MINNEAPOLIS-- Women's basketball fell behind early on and spent the rest of the game fighting back in Saturday's home loss to Trinity Bible College. The Lions grabbed a double-figure lead in the first quarter and despite several rallies, North Central never found their way back in a 70-60 loss.

North Central (0-3, 0-0 UMAC) trailed 24-15 at the end of the first quarter before making a push early on in the second period. A free throw got NCU within 28-23 with 5:44 to go before the halftime break and the Rams were once again within five with two minutes to play in the first half before the Lions retook momentum. Trinity closed the half on a 7-0 run to lead 49-28 going into the locker room.

In the second half, North Central got within 42-33 in the first two minutes and appeared to be gaining momentum. But the Rams leading scorer Lizzy Swanson (Askov, Minn./East Central) picked up a fourth foul with over seven minutes to go in the third quarter and Trinity quickly moved the difference to 53-33 over the next two minutes.

The Rams staged a final rally early in the fourth quarter and a three-point shot from junior Haley Modahl (Minneapolis, Minn./Edison) got NCU within 58-49 with eight minutes to play. Swanson trimmed the lead to just 62-58 with 2:57 left but a series of free throws sealed the victory for the Lions.

Lizzy Swanson ended the night with a team-high 20 points and 9 rebounds. Freshman Rachel Stevenson (Ramsey, Minn./PACT Charter) added 14 points while Haley Modahl and junior Marissa Kari (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) each totaled 9 points.

North Central will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Grinnell College (Grinnell, Iowa) for a 7 p.m. tip-off.