Jared Shlensky
Sports Editor
The Cardinals opened up the 2013-2014 season on a high note after defeating the Ripon College Redhawks 113-111 in overtime.
Tied at 37 through the first 17:30 of the first half in which neither team led by more than six points, North Central pulled away to go into the half up 46-40 thanks to a 9-1 run to close out the final 2:30 of the half.
Tallying all nine of the Cards points in the final 2:30 of the first half were freshman DeJa Moore and Sofia Svensson along with junior transfer Uzuri Williams, all of whom are in their first season with North Central.
NCC extended their lead to 10 3:30 into the second half thanks to a three-pointer from junior guard Kelsey Cooling followed by a fade-away jumper from junior forward Larynn Shumaker, who finished with a team-high 25 points.
But Ripon went on a 26-16 run, tying the game up at 67 with just less than 10 minutes to go in the second half.
Senior Jill VanEperen and freshman Nicole Herkert paced Ripon’s run with 14 of the team’s 26 points.
VanEperen finished with 18 points while Herkert tallied a game-high 32 points in her collegiate debut.
After both teams continued to exchange leads for the next 9:30, Ripon slowly began to pull away, taking a 99-94 lead with 26 seconds remaining in the second half.
Junior point guard Bobbi Johns cut the Redhawks lead to two after driving the entire length of the court and finishing an acrobatic running layup while drawing the foul with 17 seconds left in the second half.
After Johns sunk the free throw, Johns stepped up again for North Central, but this time on the defensive end.
After Ripon broke NCC’s full-court press, Herket found herself underneath the Cardinals basket for what looked like an easy layup, but at the last second Johns slid in front of Herkert to take a charge, resulting in an offensive foul called against Herket, her fifth personal as well.
“Bobbi (Johns) is huge, she’s our court leader, she’s our team leader and I’d say she’s one of our smartest player’s on the floor,” said Head Coach Michelle Roof. “She just knows how to make plays. She took it to the rim and drew the three-point play and then to draw the charge on the other end was just outstanding, that was pure leadership, understanding the game and saying I’m going to make a difference and put our team in a position to win.”
Down two with six seconds coach Roof subbed in Moore for Johns, who drove the length of the court but couldn’t find an opening for herself or for her teammate.
As a result Roof used her final timeout, giving the Cardinals the basketball underneath the Redhawks basket with just under three seconds remaining in the half.
Moore, the Cardinals in-bounder, couldn’t find an open teammate but did find an opening for herself after the pass intented for Shumaker was deflected back to Moore off a Ripon defender’s hand.
Moore quickly established herself inbounds, pump faked and sank the layup with less than two seconds left in the half to tie the game at 99.
“We were trying to run a slip play for our post player Larynn Shumaker,” said Roof. “It was bobbled and she (DeJa) made a nice, headsy play. Very composed player DeJa has shown to be and made some big shots and big plays down the stretch.”
Ripon answered with a half court heave that nearly went in, but ultimately didn’t, resulting in overtime between the two teams.
After both teams once again exchanged leads throughout overtime, NCC ultimately gained the lead when it mattered most.
Tied at 111-111 Moore attacked the rim again and once again delivered with a tough layup, giving NCC a 113-11 lead.
The Redhawks failed to get a shot off in the final five seconds, sealing the win for NCC.
“I saw players just fighting until the end,” said Roof. “And they know that for us that we take a shot every nine seconds. So 26 seconds for most baseketball teams is one possession, 26 seconds for us can be three possessions, which is what we ended up seeing.”
NCC prevailed over Ripon despite shooting 8-46 from beyond the arc, something coach Roof was pleased to see her team overcome.
“It was excellent,” said coach Roof. “They continued to shoot the ball, they crashed the boards hard, they got to the rim, they drew fouls and did everything they needed to do to win in a frustrating time when shots were in-and-out, typically shots that we can make.
The Cardinals fell to No. 9 ranked Hope College on Saturday 126-56 in the championship game of the Chicago Marriott Naperville Tip-Off Tourney.
North Central looks to improve to 2-1 today against the Lake Forest College Foresters, with tipoff between the two local rivals scheduled to get under way at 7 p.m. from Gregory Arena.
