MINNEAPOLIS – North Central University women's basketball (4-15, 1-10 UMAC) fell to Finlandia University (4-13), 88-77, on Friday night in Clark-Danielson Gymnasium. Annabel Morrisroe (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet) and Lizzy Swanson (Askov, Minn./East Central) led the Rams offense both scoring double-figure points, 28 and 25 points respectfully. In a game that saw nine lead changes and five moments with the tie score the Lions were able to pull away from the Rams in the fourth quarter.

How It Happened

First Quarter: The Rams jumped out to the early, 8-5, lead with six points from Morrisroe. Finlandia responded with a 9-0 run to lead after the first ten minutes of play, 18-14.

Second Quarter: Swanson scored nine of her 25 points in a quarter where the Rams outscored the Lions 22-14. Swanson hit back-to-back three-pointers before the Rams went on a 7-0 run. North Central was .474 from the floor and .571 from beyond the arc to give them the 36-32 lead at the half.

Third Quarter: Morrisroe had six of the first eight points and all in the paint. Once again the Rams shot better from the floor, .538 compared to Finlandia's .316 effort. Swanson led all scorers with nine points. North Central lead by as much as 11 in the final minutes of the quarter.

Fourth Quarter: Perfect shooting from the free throw line and 6-9 from three-point range helped the Lions to extend the lead on the Rams in the final ten minutes. The Lions completed a 10-0 run before Swanson drained a three-pointer to close the Lions lead to only seven.

Up Next: North Central University will be back in action at home on Saturday, February 4 at 3 p.m. against Northland College. The following Tuesday, February 7, the Rams will travel to Hancock, Michigan for a rematch against Finlandia in a make-up game from December. Tip-off for the second game with Finlandia is set for 4 p.m. CST.