CHICAGO (Interstat) — North Park used a decisive third-quarter surge and a late defensive stand to defeat Illinois Tech 66-61 in a women’s NCAA Division III basketball game Tuesday at North Park Gym. Attendance was 59. The Vikings improved to 2-0, while the Scarlet Hawks fell to 1-1.

Caroline Long led North Park with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Teresa Morrissey added 13 points and four rebounds. Aliesha Peterson distributed 11 assists to go with four rebounds, Naomi Kaskavitch scored eight points, and Shay Bowen pulled down nine rebounds. Peterson finished with one point, four rebounds and 11 assists, while Kaskavitch added four rebounds, four assists and a block. North Park shot 28 of 68 from the floor, including 0 of 14 from 3-point range, and made 10 of 17 free throws. The Vikings held a 14-3 advantage on the offensive glass and committed 18 turnovers. Illinois Tech had 10 assists to North Park’s nine and blocked two shots.

Illinois Tech was paced by Sydney Johnson with 12 points and Nadia Adeleke with 11 points and four rebounds. Frehiwot Vowels added nine points, five rebounds and three assists, Dani Henry scored eight points, and Berit Rusing contributed five rebounds and four assists. Johnson added two assists, and Henry had one rebound and one block. The Scarlet Hawks shot 24 of 54 overall, 3 of 12 from beyond the arc and 10 of 15 at the free-throw line. They committed 23 turnovers.

The first quarter ended tied at 19 after Makayla Hill’s layup for North Park. Vowels opened the scoring with a 3-pointer for Illinois Tech, but North Park’s Aliyah Hershberger answered with a layup and two jumpers, including a fast-break basket, and Long added a three-point play. Illinois Tech moved ahead later in the period on baskets by Morgan Applewhite, Nadia Adeleke, Abigail Marino and Johnson. The Scarlet Hawks held a 19-15 lead after Applewhite’s jumper before North Park tied the score on Hershberger’s layup and Hill’s layup.

Illinois Tech moved ahead in the second quarter behind a three-point play from Rusing and a floater from Vowels. North Park answered with a run that included layups by Layla Murry and Shay Bowen, and Kaskavitch added a jumper and a layup. Murry’s layups helped North Park erase a 27-21 deficit, and Bowen’s layup tied the score at 27. The teams traded baskets before Adeleke scored twice for Illinois Tech. Illinois Tech took a 31-29 halftime lead on consecutive baskets by Adeleke.

North Park then seized control after the break. After Vowels opened the third quarter with a jumper, the Vikings scored 14 unanswered points, capped by two Kaskavitch free throws, to build a 43-33 cushion. The run turned a 33-29 Illinois Tech lead into a 43-33 North Park advantage. Long and Morrissey repeatedly finished inside during the burst. Illinois Tech chipped away behind Henry and Johnson and pulled to 52-47 entering the fourth.

The Scarlet Hawks rallied in the final quarter. Johnson’s 3-pointer brought Illinois Tech within 56-54, and Katie Westwood’s 3 made it 60-59 with 4:23 left. North Park answered with free throws from Peterson and Aliyah Hershberger. Peterson made a free throw, and Hershberger made two free throws to push the lead to 63-59 before Henry scored. Henry’s layup pulled Illinois Tech to 63-61 with 1:39 left, but Morrissey made a free throw and Hershberger sealed the outcome with a layup with 14.2 seconds remaining. The Vikings finished with 28 field goals and limited Illinois Tech to 24 while withstanding the late push.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of North Park 54, Illinois Tech 46. Interstat’s ELO system had projected North Park with a 92.9 percent probability to win.