CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park Women's Basketball (1-3) hosted the Dominican University Stars (2-1) on Saturday afternoon's return to Carlson Gym, dropping the contest 58-57.

The opening quarter was a back-and-forth battle, with both teams trading baskets. Junior forward Teresa Morrisey set the tone early, knocking down two three-pointers, while Hershberger added six points in the first. Hershberger played every minute of the half, going 4-for-5 from the field and leading all scorers with 10 points. Turnovers were an issue for both sides, with North Park committing 15 and Dominican 16, many of them unforced. For the Stars, guard Aya Deiri paced the offense with nine points, while Lia Saunders matched North Park's Aliesha Peterson with three assists. The teams went into halftime deadlocked at 26-26.

The game remained tight through the third quarter and into the fourth as North Park's Caroline Long and Kathryn Keehn began to find their rhythm. Dominican managed to build a six-point lead early in the final frame thanks to balanced scoring: five players finished with at least eight points. North Park responded at the free-throw line, with Keehn converting 11 of 12 attempts and Long going 8 of 10. They led the Vikings with 16 and 13 points, respectively.

With both teams in the bonus midway through the fourth, the contest turned into a free-throw duel. North Park clawed back to tie the game at 57, but Dominican had the ball with 19 seconds remaining. Saunders drove to the rim and drew a foul with 11 seconds left, splitting the pair to give the Stars a 58-57 edge. After a Vikings timeout, Long faked a handoff to Keehn and spun into the paint for a clean look, but her jumper hit the front rim as time expired, sealing Dominican's win.

North Park will look to regroup with a week off before traveling to Lake Forest College on November 29.