CHICAGO, Ill. - Carroll's women's basketball team fell behind early Wednesday night, as they trailed 14-7 after the first quarter. The Pioneers would turn things around however, thanks to a 33-point third quarter, which was part of a second half that saw Carroll outscore the Vikings by a 48-24 margin, en route to a 77-51 conference victory.
The win marks the Pios' third victory in their last four games. After shooting 24 percent (8-33) in the first half, Carroll (6-3, 2-1 CCIW) converted 63 percent (20-32) after halftime. The Pioneers outscored North Park 40-20 in the paint on the night, while also scoring 22 second-chance points. North Park (2-6, 0-2 CCIW) finished the game shooting 34 percent (17-50).
North Park scored on the game's opening possession on a layup by Caroline Long to give the Vikings the early lead. They would hold that lead until 14 seconds left before halftime when a
Natalie Gricius basket gave the Pioneers their first lead of the contest.
Carroll would build on that lead in the second half, converting their first four shot attempts in the third quarter.
Emilie Wizner would later give the Pios a double-digit lead with one of her four 3-pointers on the night. They outscored North Park 33-10 in the third period to extend their two-point halftime lead to 25 at the end of that quarter. Carroll would lead by as many as 31 in the final period.
Wizner led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field, making all four of her 3-point attempts and all three of her free throws, as the Pioneers shot 15-for-16 from the charity stripe as a team. Gricius added 13 points and five rebounds, while
Lauren Soyke chipped in with 12 points.
Olivia Rangel also scored in double figures with a double-double of 10 points and 13 boards.
North Park was led by Aliyah Hershberger's 17 points. Victoria Perery added eight points and five rebounds, while Long chipped in with five points.
The Pioneers will be in action again on Saturday when they'll host #9 Millikin University. That game will begin at 2 p.m., and will be followed by the men's game against the Big Blue.
