Jarred DeHerrera
Staff Writer
Jan. 21, 2015 – The Cardinals had no problem powering their way to a 101-72 victory against Carthage College, improving their overall record to 16-1 and 5-1 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. The 22-ranked North Central women’s basketball team continues to show Division III that they are an offensive force to be reckoned with as the playoffs draw closer.
After being down 6-5 in the opening 2 minutes of the first half, the Cardinals went red-hot from long range with 16 of 31 shots from the 3-point line finding their mark. Tess Godhardt started the game by hitting a 3-pointer, and after taking the lead at 8-6 with a Paula Zerante 3-pointer, there was no looking back.
With a ruthless full-court press, Corrine Rowe hit a pair of 3-pointers. The Cardinals stretched their lead to 33-17 with just under 10 minutes left in the first half, continuing this dominance through the remainder of the half.
Led by a dominant performance by Anita Sterling, hitting five 3-pointers for 15 of her 17 first-half points, 10 different Cardinals hit 3-pointers in the first half alone.
After starting the first with a lead of 30 points at 61-31, the Cardinals controlled the ball in the second half. At 85-50, with 10 minutes left in the half, North Central continued to put their foot on the gas throughout the game.
Sixteen of the 17 Cardinal players finished the game putting points on the board. Sterling led the team in scoring with her 17 first-half points and Mayson Whipple had 14. Rowe and Godhardt ended the game with 12 and 11 points respectively. Their high scoring offense proved to be dominant in the CCIW conference bout.
North Central continues conference play on their run to the playoffs Saturday, Jan. 24, against the North Park Vikings.
