North Central Box Score
NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Elmhurst College women's basketball overcame a six-point deficit in the final five minutes to score a 58-55 victory over North Central College.
Elmhurst improved to 12-9 overall and 5-5 in CCIW play, moving into a tie for the fourth and final spot in the CCIW Tournament with just four games remaining. North Central slipped to 10-10 overall and 5-5 in league contests.
Elmhurst trailed 25-21 at the half after shooting just 28.1 percent (9-of-32) from the floor in the game's opening 20 minutes.
The Bluejays knotted the score at 32-all with 13:30 left, but the Cardinals responded with an 11-4 run to grab a 43-36 lead with 7:30 remaining. A 6-0 Elmhurst run brought the Bluejays to within one point, but the Cardinals answered back with five straight points to take a 48-42 lead with just over five minutes left on the clock.
After a pair of Meghan Merklein free throws cut the lead down to four points, Lyndsie Long connected on a 3-pointer to pull the Bluejays to within a point. After the two teams traded buckets, Charnele Harris put the Bluejays up with a lay-up with 2:30 left. Brittany Bobruk followed with a jumper to give the Bluejays a 53-50 lead with under two minutes.
North Central's Meghan McGuire knocked down a jumper to pull the Cardinals to within a point with less than a minute to go, but Lyndsie Long gave Elmhurst a 55-52 lead with a lay-up with 41 seconds left on the clock. After a Cardinals' miss, Long pushed Elmhurst's lead to five points by knocking down a pair of free throws. A late 3-pointer by North Central trimmed the lead down to two points, but Long sealed the game from the free throw line with four seconds left.
Elmhurst finished the game shooting 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the field, including 20 percent (1-of-5) from 3-point range. The Bluejays made the most of North Central's mistakes, scoring 17 points off of 19 turnovers.
North Central shot 35.6 percent from the floor (21-of-59), including 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from beyond the arc.
Long paced the Bluejays in the victory by totaling a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Merklein added 12 points while Megan Ney finished with eight points. Bobruk scored six for the Bluejays.
Brianne Parra led the Cardinals with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Gia Navarra finished with nine points while Jackie Errico and McGuire scored six points apiece.
Elmhurst hosts North Park University on Saturday, February 14.
