North Central Women Stymied by Poor Shooting

The North Central College women's basketball team was denied in its latest attempt to break into the win column in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play on Saturday, as its offense never got untracked in a 67-55 loss to Augustana College at Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals (6-15, 0-10 CCIW) committed a season-low 10 turnovers and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, but made just 18 of 62 shots from the floor (29.0 percent) in dropping to 2-8 in home games this season.

The teams played to a 6-6 stalemate after nearly five minutes before Augustana (10-11, 2-8) went on a 13-2 run that gave the visitors a 19-8 advantage with 9:31 remaining in the first half. A jumper by Callie Rezin and a basket and free throw byEmily Collins narrowed the gap to 19-13, but a 7-2 surge gave the Vikings their first double-digit advantage at 26-15.

North Central fought back and cut the deficit to 35-29 by halftime, but were able to get no closer once the second period began despite 11 second-half points fromHelen Muleya.

Muleya finished with 15 points to lead the Cardinals, while Collins turned in a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Rezin added nine points in 21 minutes off the bench.

Molly Etheridge totaled a game-high 19 points for the Vikings, who also got 12 points each from Gianna Pecora and Natalie Runge. 

The Cardinals travel to face Illinois Wesleyan University (16-5, 9-1) on Wednesday. Tipoff at the Shirk Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.