MINNEAPOLIS-- North Central came out on the short end of a hard-fought game at home on Saturday evening. The Rams played the University of Northwestern tough before a late surge by the Eagles gave the visitors a 65-56 win in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference action.

After a tight first quarter, North Central hung with Northwestern (St. Paul, Minn.) through most of the second period before a late push gave the Eagles a 36-26 advantage at the break.

The Rams battled hard in the third, holding UNW to just 10 points in the quarter, and took a 47-46 lead on a buzzer-beating, three-point shot from junior Haley Modahl (Minneapolis, Minn./Edison) to the final stanza.

Both teams exchanged runs including NCU taking a 56-54 lead with six minutes to play. Unfortunately for the Rams they did not score over the final four minutes, going 0-6 down the stretch. Northwestern took advantage and closed out the game on a 9-0 scoring run. 

North Central pounded the taller Eagles, 43-25, on the glass. However, the game came down to 21 turnovers by the Rams that UNW converted into 19 points. NCU got just 10 points off 11 Eagles turnovers and that proved the final difference on the scoreboard.

Freshman Annabel Morrisroe (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet) led all players with 15 points while pulling down 8 boards. Haley Modahl and freshman Rachel Stevenson (Ramsey, Minn./PACT Charter) each added 9 points while sophomore Syndey Steele (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) pulled down nine rebounds and handed out six assists, each a game-high.

North Central will be back in action with a road doubleheader next weekend that closes out the 2016 portion of their schedule. Friday NCU will play at Northland College (Ashland, Wis.) in a 5:30 p.m. UMAC game. Saturday the Rams are at Finlandia University (Hancock, Mich.) for a 3 p.m. non-conference match-up.