Game Notes: (WBK) North Park University @ North Central College (12/8/18)

Final Score
NPU 83, NCC 82 (OT)

Game Summary
This was a tough one as the Cardinals (2-5, 1-2) and Vikings (5-4, 2-1) traded leads in the early going, with North Park taking a 19-17 lead after one. North Central took a brief 20-19 lead early in the second quarter, but then it was all Vikings as they pushed their lead gradually up to eight, with a 39-31 advantage going into the locker room. The Cardinals fought back a couple times in the third quarter, drawing back within two three separate times in the period only to see the Vikings push the lead back, as they took a 65-56 lead into the final frame. But then the Cardinals made their push: a 10-0 run that spanned the first four minutes of the fourth, giving them the lead, and their defense held the Vikings without a basket until more than five minutes in. But still, the Vikings seemed poised to win in regulation, up six with 1:25 to play, but a three and layup sandwiching a defensive stop made it a one point game with just 23 seconds to go. The Vikings split a pair of free throws, and Lyndsay Brennan hit a layup to tie, and the Vikings missed a couple looks to avoid the extra session. North Central was in pretty good shape a couple minutes in despite trading leads, going up four with a minute and a half to play, but the Vikings closed it out with five straight free throws, the fifth coming after North Central missed a go-ahead three, and Tyonne Howard missed a desperation heave at the final buzzer.

Key Players

• Lauryn Alba Garner (NPU): 6-13 FG (2-3 3PT), 3-5 FT; 17 pts, 5 reb (2 off), 2 ast, 4 stl. I didn't realize Alba Garner had the impact she did on the defensive side until I looked at the final box score, but what really stood out was her offensive game. Her game-high 17 seemed like more given the end of the third quarter, when she scored North Park's final six points on an old fashioned three point play and a three pointer to push the Viking lead to nine. Her fourth quarter wasn't quite as good, as those two missed free throws were what allowed North Central to tie the game.
• Natali Dimitrova (NCC): 6-13 FG (0-2 3PT), 14-17 FT; 26 pts, 10 reb (6 off), 2 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl. While the result was disappointing, tonight was definitely a coming out party for Natali Dimitrova. She shattered her old career high of 17 points by dominating down low, especially in the second half when she scored 16 of her points, plus another five in overtime before controversially fouling out. I think the best sign is in her free throw numbers; a year after really struggling at the stripe, it's apparent she worked on that in the offseason, and it showed with a stellar performance.
• Tyonne Howard (NCC): 6-8 FG, 5-8 FT; 17 pts, 6 reb (3 off), 7 ast, 2 stl. I've touched on Tyonne Howard in every game so far, but I think deservedly so. She's been such a good distributor of the ball in each of the first three home games as well as on the road, and she did a good job with her shots tonight. I think more impressive was, at 5'4", she was going right into traffic and stealing offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive. The turnover numbers are still not great (6 tonight), but when she's notching more assists than turnovers and wreaking some havoc on defense, you'll take the hiccups.

Key Stats

• NCC: 5-20 3PT (25.0%). I had a hard time picking out a stat for North Central. The rebounding was about even (44-40 North Park), North Central turned it over a couple more times (15 to 13), and the Cardinals shot all right as a whole. The three point shooting wasn't great though. They were okay in the first half, then went away a bit as the game went on, but missed five of their six attempts after halftime. This number should be a little higher, and could have swung the game. Alas.
• NPU: 24-40 FT (60.0%). I already touched on Lauryn Alba Garner's two late misses, but this isn't just on her. 60 percent isn't good; that's as big a reason as any the Cardinals stayed in this game. Fortunately for the Vikings, they went 8-12 at the line in the extra session, which was just enough.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ CRL 70 (4-5, 1-1), MIL 67 (2-6, 1-2)
• IWU 83 (8-2, 3-0), @ AUG 76 (4-5, 1-2)
• @ CAR 92 (4-3, 1-2), ELM 62 (3-5, 0-2)
• Bye: UW-Oshkosh 57, @ WHE 48 (5-3, 2-0)

Final Thoughts

All told, this one hurts. The Cardinals didn't play great at times, but they stayed in this ballgame unlike the Millikin contest last week and thus didn't need as furious a comeback. But they did a great job to force the extra session. I do question the decision making on their second to last possession, having the ball with about ten seconds left, only to force a contested three rather than attack the basket. Of course, had Howard's heave fallen we may not be talking about this. But really, I have to give credit to the Vikings. They played well, and they earned the victory and the right to storm the court after the final buzzer.

This is a tough loss that drops the Cardinals into a lower pack in the conference. It's still early, but the schedule doesn't get any easier. They head north to take on Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Tuesday before heading to the dreaded King Arena for a date with Wheaton on Saturday.