ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst women's basketball team recorded its sixth consecutive win by upending North Central College 103-81.
 
Elmhurst improved to 14-3 overall with the win and upped their conference record to 6-2. After a sluggish opening quarter, the Bluejays sizzled for the final 30-minutes, short-circuiting North Central's full court press system.
 
North Central (10-7, 4-4 CCIW)) raced out to a 17-5 lead just four minutes into the contest as the Cardinals hit six of their first eight shots. North Central led by 13 (26-13) after the first quarter and took a quick 16-point lead just 12 seconds into the second quarter after Miranda Grizaffi knocked down a three-pointer.
 
Elmhurst came storming back, outscoring North Central 41-17 for the remainder of the quarter to take a 54-46 lead at the half. Trailing by 15 (31-16) with nine minutes remaining in the half, the Bluejays ripped off a 20-3 run over the next three minutes to surge in front on a Mikaela Eppard layup. Eppard and Kalia Summerlin sparked the run with six points apiece for the Bluejays. North Central went back in front 37-36 with 5:46 remaining, but the Bluejays answered back with a 16-0 run fueled by seven points from Eppard. Elmhurst led 52-37 with two minutes left in the half before North Central used a 9-0 run to close to within six points. A Becca Gerke put back with just three seconds left in the half gave the Bluejays an eight-point cushion at the half.
 
North Central came as close as four points early in the third quarter, but came no closer as Elmhurst quickly started to pull away. Leading by seven with five minutes left in the third, Elmhurst used a 12-0 run to push their lead up to 19 points. Elmhurst led by 19 (82-63) after three quarters, and led by as many as 24 points in the fourth before coasting to the 22-point victory.
 
Elmhurst finished the game shooting 52.9 percent (36-of-68) from the floor in the victory. Elmhurst dominated inside, outscoring North Central 54-22 in the paint while having multiple two-on-one rushes after breaking the Cardinals' press. Elmhurst hit 7-of-12 attempts (58.3 percent) from three-point range. Elmhurst tied the CCIW record for three throw percentage at 1.000 finishing a perfect 24-of-24 from the charity stripe. The previous high for free throws made/attempted was 18-of-18. The Bluejays' 101 points is also the third-highest point total in Elmhurst history. Elmhurst also won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Cardinals 47-34.
 
Eppard, Summerlin, and Hannah Henderson sparked the Bluejays in the victory. Eppard poured in a career-high 39 points, the fourth-highest single game total in Elmhurst history. She shot 14-of-23 from the floor while adding eight rebounds in the win. Henderson flirted with a quadruple-double, finishing with 10 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and eight steals. Summerlin added 16 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from downtown. Hannah Lipman added 19 points while Erika Johnson scored nine for Elmhurst.
 
North Central finished the game shooting 38.6 percent (27-of-70) from the floor, including 35.0 percent (14-of-40) from beyond the arc.  The Cardinals struggled from the free-throw line, hitting just 13-of-25 attempts (52.0 percent). Jessica Dahle came off the bench to lead the Cardinals with 14 points while Paula Zerante and Anita Sterling scored 10 points apiece.
 
Elmhurst looks for its seventh consecutive victory on Wednesday, January 25 when the Bluejays host Carroll University.