Box Score NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Meghan Merklein poured in a career-high 31 points to lead the Elmhurst College women's basketball team to a 64-52 road victory at North Central College.

Merklein scored 21 points in the second half when Elmhurst (12-2, 3-0 CCIW) pulled away for the win.

North Central (6-8, 0-3 CCIW) led for the majority of the opening half, but back-to-back buckets from Megan Ney and Fiona McMahon gave the Bluejays a 27-25 lead at the half.

Merklein opened the second half by hitting seven of Elmhurst's first eight buckets, including three three-pointers. The Bluejays slowly pulled away, building a 15-point advantage and coming away with the 12-point win.

Merklein shot 13-of-22 from the floor to score a career-best 31 points. She knocked down 5-of-8 shots from beyond the arc and added six rebounds and four assists in the win. Tess Godhardt finished with 11 points and three steals for the Bluejays while Devin Vaughn finished with seven points and three assists. Ney pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Bluejays.

Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 40.0 percent (22-of-55) from the field, including 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from downtown.

North Central finished the contest shooting 34.5 percent (19-of-55) from the floor, including 25.0 percent (2-of-8) from long distance.

Sophie Newson paced the Cardinals in the loss, scoring 16 points while shooting 6-of-11. Emily Collins added 11 points and seven rebounds while Emily Murphy chipped in with nine points and six boards.

Elmhurst will look for its fourth straight win on Saturday (January 14) when the Bluejays host Augustana College at 6:00 p.m.