Ankeny, Iowa-- The North Central University women's basketball team won the NCCAA North Central Region Tournament Saturday afternoon by defeating the Trinity Bible College Lions 83-61.

The Rams (11-15) were led by an inspired senior class who combined to score 65 points in the victory and they were supported by their underclassmen with a strong all-around performance.

North Central started out strong as senior Jorie Grenell (Lakeville, Minn./ Spring Lake Park) scored on the teams first two possesions giving the Rams an early 5-0 lead. 

Trinity quickly answered back with seven points of their own to take the lead 7-5. That run was stopped by senior Emily Aleckson (Braham, Minn./ Cambridge-Christian) who made a jumper off a nice pass from senior Julia Skeesick (Victoria, Minn./ Chaska) to tie the game.

The next nine minutes were very competitive as the Rams held a 24-22 lead with 6:15 remaining in the half. From there the Rams finished on a 14-8 run to end the half as sophomore Crystal Goutierez (Lakeville, Minn./ Christian Life) made a layup with five seconds remaining to extend the Rams lead to 38-30.

The second half started with both teams trading buckets until sophomore Jamie High (Buffalo, Minn./ Buffalo) made a 16-foot jumper with 15 minutes left in the game to bring the Rams lead to 15. 

North Central never looked back from there as they used timely shooting and free throws to take full control of the game and advance to the NCCAA National Tournament with a 22-point victory over the Lions (Ellendale, ND).

Julia Skeesick led the way for the Rams as she tied a career-high in scoring with 25 points and she also added 10 assists in the win.

Jorie Grenell hit three shots from behind-the-arc as she scored 23 points while collecting five rebounds. Emily Aleckson had a strong shooting night as she added 14 points of her own. Aleckson also proved to be a force on the defensive end as she had eight rebounds and a game-high four blocks.

Jamie High added another double-double to her collection as the sophomore forward scored 13 points with 10 rebounds. High also had seven steals in the contest.

North Central had only nine turnovers in the game which proved to be a key to victory against the Trinity full court pressure. The Rams shot 48.3% (28-58) from the field and 73.3% (22-30) from the free-throw line in the victory.

The Lady Rams will continue their season at the NCCAA National Tournament played in Joplin, Missouri during March 13-15. Stay tuned on ncurams.com for more scheduling details.