MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- North Central struggled shooting the ball against an agressive Bethany Lutheran defense on Friday night. The Rams collected just ten made field goals and were defeated 47-33 in their first home conference game of the season.

North Central (5-9, 1-3 UMAC) was never comfortable on offense all night and despite playing enough defense to hold an opponent under 50 points, the Rams trailed 26-6 at halftime. NCU shot a paltry 3-23 (.130) in the opening 20 minutes.

Despite outscoring Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, Minn.) by six in the second half, North Central only improved their field goal percentage to .292 in the last 20 minutes. The Rams were only outrebounded by a narrow 45-40 margin but 26 NCU turnovers proved too costly on a night where buckets were hard to come by for both teams.

Junior Jamie High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) continued to show herself as one of the top all-around players in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference with her third straight double-double in the first four league games of the year. High posted 13 points and 12 rebounds along with 4 blocked shots. Freshman Marissa Kari (Lindstrom/Chisago Lakes) was the only other Ram in double figures with 11 points.

North Central will get a chance to bounce back right away as they return to action tomorrow afternoon. The Rams host Martin Luther College (New Ulm, Minn.) in a 3 p.m. tip-off in UMAC play.