NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Park women's basketball found their groove from deep on Wednesday night, shooting a season high 13-23 (56.5%) from three against North Central. The Vikings were also just one three shy of a school record of 14 set against Mount Mary on Dec. 31, 2021. However, defense prevailed inside Gregory Arena as the Cardinals forced 22 turnovers en route North Park's 75-66 loss.
In the first minute of play, the Vikings and Cardinals combined for three steals and a blocked shot, as sophomore guard Kathryn Keehn contributed the block for NPU in the opening possession before adding a steal 40 seconds later. North Central got the first bucket of the game before freshman center Caroline Long evened the score with a pair from the paint.
Trailing 9-5 four minutes into the first quarter, senior guards Victoria Perry and Hayle Lyczak buried threes to tie the game, 11-11, following an NCC jumper. Next, junior guard Elisha Dunlap had a quick two points before Lyczak sent in another three – 16-11 in favor of the Vikings. However, a free throw, jumper by Megan McClure, and consecutive layups without an answer from the Vikings gave NCC the first quarter advantage, 18-16.
Through the next 30 minutes, this pattern would continue. The Cardinals would pull ahead and the Vikings would reel things back into a one-possession game. With three minutes to go in the third quarter, North Central appeared to be running away with the game, up 16 points 54-38. However, more threes from Lyczak, freshman guard Jocelyn Chammas, and steady free-throw shooting closed the gap to seven points, 59-52. Sophomore guard Felicia Sunden joined the fun with threes in the fourth quarter, forcing a one-possession game (61-58) with six-and-a-half minutes to go in the game. Unfortunately, this was as close as NPU could get, falling to the Cardinals 75-66.
Quick Hits:
- Vikings with their best shooting of the season – 13 threes and 56.5% from deep
- Perry leads the Vikings with 20, shooting 5-for-9 from three
- Sixth game of the season with 20-or-more
- Three Cardinals score in double digits: McClure (24), Elle Sutter (22), and a double-double for Jocelyn Trotter: 10pts 12reb
- Cardinals force 22 turnovers, including 15 steals
- NCC outscores NPU 38-16 in the paint, 20-8 off second-chance points, and gets 22 points off turnovers
What's Next?
North Park (3-14, 0-8 CCIW) continues the hunt for their first CCIW win this coming Saturday, Jan. 20, when they host Augustana College (10-7, 5-3 CCIW) at 2:00 PM.
