MINNEAPOLIS- After a rugged start North Central pulled away for a victory in Friday night's NCCAA Division II North Central region semi-final. The Rams took controll in the second quarter and went on to defeat Faith Baptist Bible College 71-55, advancing to the region championship on Saturday afternoon.

Friday's win started out slowly for North Central while Faith Baptist (Ankeny, Iowa) got off to a dream start in the first quarter. Sophomore Lizzy Swanson (Askov, Minn./East Central) scored the first bucket of the game but NCU trailed the Eagles by as many as 10 in the first quarter before the Rams got anything going on offense. FBBC led 22-17 after the first 10 minutes after firing 10-12 from the floor to open the game. 

The Rams would not lead again until another lay-up from Lizzy Swanson at the 5:31 mark of the second quarter made it 27-25. Faith retook the lead again on a three point basket but NCU answered back as Swanson continued to be a force scoring two more of her 21 first half points. After Faith tied the game up with 4:03 to go before halftime Swanson scored a third consecutive field goal to retake the lead. NCU ended up with a 36-33 halftime advantage.

Halftime seemed to give the Rams time to reboot and they opened the second half on a 15-2 run that lasted all the way to the 2:11 mark of the third period. The Rams held the Eagles to just six points on two field goals and a pair of free throws in the third and NCU controlled the tempo the rest of the way to take the win.

KEY SEQUENCE OF THE GAME

After struggling to start the game, North Central simply over powered Faith Baptist in the third. The Rams held the Eagles to just three field goals over a span of nearly nine minutes of actual game time spanning from the final minute of the second quarter until nearly 90 seconds into the fourth quarter. That effort allowed the Rams a chance to get back on their feet and take control.

KEY PERFORMERS OF THE GAME

Lizzy Swanson was a force on Friday when the Rams needed her scoring. She posted an efficient 30 points on 11-16 shooting with 4 rebounds and just 1 turnover. Sophomore Bethany Cressman (Breezy Point, Minn./Central Lakes College) posted one of the best games of her career with 14 points and 7 rebounds on 6-7 shooting.

Senior Jamie High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) did not have her best shooting touch but did tally 16 points with 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. Those numbers were more than enough to push High over the top and break the Rams career scoring record. High now has 1541 points, surpassing former teammate Jorie Grenell's record of 1534 set from 2010-14.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• After at torid start Faith Baptist cooled off offensively to shoot just .377 from the floor after firing over 80 percent in the first quarter
• North Central shot .418 (28-67) from the floor
• NCU earned a narrow 41-37 rebound advantage
• The Rams committed 9 turnovers but forced 18 Eagles give aways that led directly to 21 NCU points
• Friday was the seventh time this season that Lizzy Swanson has scored 25 or more points

UP NEXT

North Central advances to tomorrow afternoon's NCCAA Division II Region Championship game. The Rams take on top seed Trinity Bible College (Ellendale, N.D.) at 1 p.m. The Lions knocked off the Rams in the NCU season opener in November in Ellendale but a 66-63 final.