Wheaton, Ill. (Feb. 28 2015) – After a thrilling two-point victory over the Elmhurst Blue Jays on Friday night, the North Central College Cardinals knew they would have their hands full against a 23-3 Wheaton College Thunder team that they have lost to twice this season already in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship. The Cardinals fell on Saturday night 92-80 after holding a 10-point victory before the intermission.
After tying up the score at 23-23 with a Tess Godhardt layup, the Cardinals seemed to be leaving the Thunder in the dust in until the end of the first half. Godhardt ended the half with a last minute layup with two seconds left on the clock to make the score 46-37.
The Cardinals held their largest lead with just over 15 minutes left in the half and it was all Wheaton Thunder from there. It only took Wheaton two minutes to erase the Cardinals 11 point lead, and it seemed like the North Central had no answer for what Wheaton threw at them. With 13 minutes left before the end of the game, Wheaton took the lead at 58-57.
After taking the lead, the Cardinals would fall to as much as a 15-point deficit to the Thunder with just 5:52 left to play at 66-81. Wheaton College continued to pile it on as they finished the game with a score of 92-80 and the CCIW title.
Godhardt led the way for the Cardinals as she had a dominant performance with 29 points, and nine rebounds, followed by Jamie Cuny who put up 15 points, and five blocks. Hannah Considine was a force for the Thunder producing 33 points along with 16 rebounds. This was the Cardinals final game of the season and the furthest they have gone in the CCIW Tournament in program history.
