Jarred DeHerrera
Staff Writer
WHEATON , ILL. (Jan. 10. 2015) The No. 24 ranked North Central College Women’s Basketball (14-1, 3-1 CCIW) team fell to the No. 13 ranked Wheaton Thunder (13-1, 3-0 CCIW) at King Arena 100-86. The end score however, did not reflect the pace of the entire game that the Cardinals set.
The Cardinals started the game slow as they fell the Thunder early 17-6 with 14 minutes left in the first half. Their lead grew to 17 points, but after a couple of late three-pointers by Jamie Cuny and Miranda Grizaffi the Thunder lead was cut to 49-36 at halftime.
North Central opened up the half with two quick three-pointers by Emily Zgoda as the Cards as a team went five-for-seven in the first five minutes of the half from beyond the arch cutting the Wheaton lead to just five points with 16 minutes left in the second half.
This early second-half push was aided by the defensive efforts of Cuny and Tess Godhardt as they combined for 13 rebounds, two forced offensive fouls and a pair of huge blocks and when they needed it most.
With just over 10 minutes to play, Cuny cut the Thunder lead to four points. That was when, despite some clutch hustle plays by Paula Zerante, the Cardinals went cold from the three-point line shooting just 1-of-8 from long-range as the Thunder ran away with the game.
Godhardt remained a dominant force in the Cardinals offense as she put up a convincing 16 points, while Zgoda and Maryssa Cladis both had 12 points on the offensive end.
The Cardinals traveled to Augustana on Wednesday, Jan. 14, and took care of business as they defeated the Vikings 95-82 improving their record to 14-1 and 4-1 in the CCIW.
