MANKATO, Minn.-- Women's Basketball dropped a road conference game to Bethany Lutheran College on Saturday evening. The Vikings used a late second quarter surge to create distance after a tight first half and then ran away from the Rams in a 72-50 victory over North Central.

North Central (3-8, 1-5 UMAC) 16-15 after one quarter when senior Jamie High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) hit a buzzer beating jumper. The teams would trade runs and North Central led 24-23 4:47 left before the half. Things remained tight before a burst of Rams turnovers and hot shooting gave the Vikings a 37-28 lead at the break.

The Vikings would quickly stretch their advantage out over the next ten minutes and led 58-41 after three quarters. Eventually, the Rams would get within 59-50 with over six minute remaining. NCU got two shots at trimming the lead further but missed both and Bethany would pull away to take the win.

KEY SEQUENCE OF THE GAME

North Central was within a single possession of Bethany Lutheran for much of the first half and trailed just 27-26 with three minutes left. It looked like the teams were in for a battle in the second half before Bethany Lutheran used two offensive rebounds to get an easy bucket near the basket with 2:23 left. BLC then stole the inbounding attempt and got an easy lay-up.

Another pair of steals and easy baskets for the Vikings in the last 50 seconds of the half created a 35-26 lead. NCU fought back with a bucket but BLC got a lay-up just before the buzzer and ended the half on a 10-2 run that proved decisive.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• Jamie High was a monster on Saturday with 21 points, 20 boards and 3 blocks despite a constant double-team all night
• No other Ram reached double figures while three Vikings reached that marker
• Despite massive rebound effort by Jamie High, BLC out-rebounded the Rams 38-36
• BLC fired 7-16 from three point land while NCU was just 2-12

KEY PERFORMER OF THE GAME

There is no doubt Jamie High was the key to the game for both teams. She faced constant physical defense all evening and was the obvious focus of the Vikings game plan. Yet the senior posted a monster night and continues her assault on the NCU scoring record books surpassing 1300 career points, moving to fourth all time in that category.

UP NEXT

The Rams come home next for a pair of home Upper Midwest Athletic Conference games. Friday NCU hosts The University of Wisconsin-Superior (Superior, Wis.) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday the Rams will host The College of St. Scholastica (Duluth, Minn.) at 5 p.m.