Waukesha, Wis. – The Carroll University Pioneers women's basketball team fell in their CCIW opener against the North Park University Vikings, 54-62. The women finished up the second quarter outscoring the Vikings 20-0, but couldn't overcome Jayla Johnson's 25 points. Sophomore
Alyssa Cruz broke out with 11 points (5-13 FGM), 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds.
The Pioneers (2-4, 0-1 CCIW) went into halftime with a 31-17 lead, holding the Vikings to only 18.8% shooting from the floor (6-32 FGM). Sophomore
Sierra Grubor started off hot with 7 points in 8 minutes and finished with 11 points. The bench duo of
Brooke Foster and
Kate Christian finished the evening with 8 and 7 points, respectively.
Kayla Stefka and
Elizabeth Behrndt came off the bench with five rebounds apiece. North Park was able to take advantage of 28 Carroll turnovers with 27 points. The Pios could not sink their free-throws however, finishing with 9-21 FTM (42.9%) at the charity stripe.
The first quarter started with back and forth action, with
Theresa Wichser burying the first bucket of the night from a corner 3-pointer. The Pios flipped a switch, and went on a 20-0 run to end the second quarter.
Elizabeth Behrndt led the way with two blocks, and
Katie Evans and Cruz both registered two steals. Cruz racked up three assists to go up 14 at the half.
A 12-4 Vikings run to start the fourth quarter shocked the Pios out of the gate, but jumpers from Cruz and a three from
Megan Madsen brought the lead back up to 15 with 1:19 left in the third. Grubor's layup with 7:32 left in the fourth was the last points the women scored until the 4:14 mark. The Vikings, led by Johnson, went on a 20-4 run to finish the contest. The Pios shot 20% from three in the second half (1-5 3PM).
The women continue their CCIW slate this weekend at Augustana before four non-conference games on the road. Stay up to date on Carroll women's basketball this season by going online to www.gopios.com, or by following the Pioneers on Facebook (Carroll University Athletics), Twitter (@pio_athletics), and Instagram (@pio_athletics).
