ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – North Central University women's basketball opened Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play on Friday night, hosting the College of St. Scholastica at Wild Athletic Center on the campus of Crown College. NCU fought early in the game, but the Saints' strong shooting, especially from three-point range, doomed NCU to a 38-55 loss.

St. Scholastica (1-5) set the long-range tone less than 30 seconds into the game and quickly jumped out to a 9-4 lead. North Central responded with a run of its own, and even pulled ahead 14-11, but the Rams would remain scoreless for the next seven minutes as CSS went on a 17-point run. With less than three minutes in the first half, NCU closed the gap to just a seven-point deficit before the Saints stretched ahead again to take a 39-25 lead at halftime.

Despite a few small surges in the second half, North Central was unable to match St. Scholastica's scoring pace. The Saints' largest lead of 24 points came with just over seven minutes remaining in the game. NCU chipped away at that margin thanks to four different Rams scoring in the final few minutes of the fourth quarter, but even a late 7-2 run would not be enough to close the gap.

North Central shot 34.6 percent from the field, but just 16.7 percent (2/12) from behind the three-point line. The Saints made 5 of 14 (35.7 percent) from long range and shot 43.1 percent overall. St. Scholastica also held an edge over the Rams in turnovers (15 to 17) and rebounds (43 to 34).

Lizzy Swanson (Askov, Minn./East Central) led all scorers in the contest with 16 points. Rachel Stevenson (Ramsey, Minn./PACT Charter) added another 13 points for the Rams, while Annabel Morrisroe (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet) led the Rams physical play for the night, grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds and chipping in 12 points.

North Central (0-5) will be back in action tomorrow night, as the Rams host the University of Wisconsin-Superior (2-3) at Clark-Danielson Gymnasium. The "Ram Jam" event for current and prospective students will tip-off at 2:00 p.m.