Although Tinkoff, who's missed seven games this season with a back injury, finished with only two points and one rebound, her mere presence frees up fellow forwards Kristina Schiefelbein (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) and Williams. Together, the two combined for 24 points and 16 rebounds. Both made big plays in an 11-point run in the second half that sealed the game for North Central.
After Carthage's Erika Buchholz canned two free throws, Carthage trailed only 39-38 with 7:22 remaining in the game. The Cardinals then held the Lady Reds scoreless for nearly six minutes in building a 49-38 advantage. Sophomore Shay Green (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Schaumburg) started the run with two free throws and capped it with a steal and layup. Green finished with 10 points, including 8 of 9 from the free-throw line.
Carthage was led by Buchholz, who was the only Lady Red to finish in double figures with 10 points. Tiffany McCrackin, who entered the game leading the conference in scoring at 14.9 ppg, finished with only seven points on 3 of 13 shooting from the field.
In the first half, North Central led 8-3 early after a short jumper from Schiefelbein, courtesy of Green. Carthage later tied it at 17s with under five minutes remaining after a layup by Lauren Johnston. The Lady Reds then took a 19-17 lead after two free throws from Bucholz.
The Cardinals responded by going on a 9-2 run to end the half up 26-21. Kimberly Wensits (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) hit a layup followed by a deep three-pointer that gave North Central a 22-21 lead. Williams then had a monster block on Carthage’s Kristina Dredge that later led to two free throws from Green and a basket for herslef for the 26-21 halftime advantage. Williams finished the half with a team-leading eight points on 4 of 6 shooting.
North Central plays at Carthage Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m.