WHEATON, Ill. – The North Park's women's basketball team made the short drive to Wheaton College for their last game of the season, taking on the Thunder.
Wheaton got out to a 24-15 lead halfway through the first half. The Vikings responded with a 9-0 run of their own to tie the game at 24 with back-to-back threes from senior guard Hailey Lyczak and another three from senior guard Victoria Perry.
As a team, North Park shot 46% from three-point land in the first half. However, Wheaton held the advantage at the free-throw line and inside the paint. Lyczak and Perry combined for 21 of the Vikings' 34 points, with 13 and 8 respectively. The Thunder would go into halftime up 43-34.
The Vikings got as close as six points in the third quarter, but the Thunder continued to add on to their lead, closing the quarter with a 60-50 advantage. Freshmen starters Aliyah Hershberger and Caroline Long came on strong in the second half, finishing with 13 points and 14 points, respectively. Senior guard Victory Perry added 9 more points to her total and finished with 17 points. North Park went on to lose 83-63 behind the senior forward Annie Tate's 39 points for Wheaton.
Final Notes for VP:
Victoria finishes as North Park WBB's 2nd-leading all-time points per game scorer with her 16.7 ppg, trailing only Rachel Pearson Bernero's 18.2 ppg. Her 99 three-pointers in her two-season NPU career is good for 8th all-time, and her .327 three-pointer shooting percentage is 10th all-time. Additionally, her .768 FT shooting % is good for 5th in program history,
For this season her 462 points is the 5th-highest total in NPU WBB history and her 18.5 ppg this season is 9th-best. She made 57 three-pointers in 2023-24, and that's the 3rd highest single-season tally ever in program history. Her 121 made FTs is the 7th-highest season total ever, and her .818 FT % for the campaign is the 5th-best ever.
Thank You, Seniors:
A special thanks to the Viking senior class of Elisha Dunlap, Hailey Lyczak, and Victoria Perry who devoted their time to Vikings basketball and best of luck to them in their careers after North Park.
Top Performers:
Victoria Perry – 18 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST
Aliyah Hershberger – 14 PTS, 6 REB, 3-for-7 3PT
Caroline Long – 13 PTS, 4 REB
Hailey Lyczak – 13 PTS, 3 Reb, 3 AST
