MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- North Central found themselves facing a big deficit throughout the first half and struggled to score in the first twenty minutes. But a big rally that began late in the opening period continued all the way to tying the game in the middle of the second half before Trinity Bible College made enough plays to defeat NCU by a 60-54 final score.

North Central (4-3, 0-0) fell behind by as many as 19 points in the first half, the latest by a 25-6 difference with 5:34 left in the half. But the Rams held Trinity Bible College (Ellendale, N.D.) scoreless the rest of the way to trail just 25-14 at halftime. 

The Rams used a 9-0 run to start the second half to fight back to within 25-23 at 18 minutes remaining in the game. Eventually a lay-up from sophomore Jamie High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) completed the comeback by tying the game at 33-33 with 13:23 left. But that would be as close as NCU would get.

Trinity responded to the Rams run by taking control of the game and forging ahead by a 55-39 margin. North Central fought back to get within 58-51 with a bit more than a minute left before a pair of free throws from senior Emily Aleckson (Braham, Minn./Cambridge Christian) produced the final score of 60-54. 

Jamie High and Emily Aleckson each posted double-double performances in the game. High recorded a team best 13 points along with equaling the team best rebound total of 10 boards to go along with 3 blocks and 3 assists. Aleckson scored 12 points and matched High's 10 rebounds. 

Sophomore Shelby Norman (Winsted, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) added 10 points along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Rams will be back in action on the road next weekend with a road trip to Iowa. Friday, December 13, North Central will play at the University of Dubuque (Dubuque, Iowa) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the Rams travel to face NCCAA regional opponent Faith Baptist Bible College (Ankeny, Iowa) at  2 p.m.