MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- A tight first half desolved into a tough second half for Women's Basketball on Saturday night. The evening was set to honor the parents and family and recognize the contributions of senior athletes, but after a close first 20 minutes the University of Minnesota-Morris pulled away from the Rams for a 72-55 win.

North Central 8-17, 3-11 UMAC) trailed just 33-28 at halftime and were within two posessions for much of the first twenty minutes. Minnesota-Morris (Morris, Minn.) used a strong 14-2 run over the first five minutes of the second half to immediately create separation that the Rams could not overcome. The Cougars took a 48-30 lead with 14:35 left in the game.

Eventually the Morris lead would be as many as 22 with 4:08 left. North Central would never stop trying to get back in the game and closed the game on a 7-2 surge that wrapped up with senior Shelby Norman (Winsted, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) hitting a three point shot on the final possession in her final home game in an NCU uniform.

Shelby Norman would end up with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in her final home game. Junior Jamie High tallied 20 points with 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Freshman Lizzy Swanson (Askov, Minn./East Central) posted 11 points with 4 boards and 2 steals.

North Central will now have off until next weekend when they travel north for the NCCAA Division II Regional Tournament. The Rams will come in as the top seed in the tournament with a berth in the NCCAA National Championship Tournament on the line for the region winner. NCU will take on fourth seed Providence University-College (Otterburne, Manitoba) at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The NCCAA regional tournament will be hosted by Trinity Bible College (Ellendale, N.D.).