MINNEAPOLIS-- A late comeback came up short for women's basketball in a 64-58 home loss to Maranatha Baptist University on Thursday. After facing a big deficit in the third quarter the Rams caught fire from three point range in the final period but it was not enough in their first game back after the holiday break.

North Central (2-7, 0-4 UMAC) fell behind 48-29 with just over a minute left in the third quarter before getting a pair of defensive stops and a pair of three pointers that gave them momentum heading into the fourth quarter. Over the first five minutes of the final period, NCU used a 22-4 run to get within 52-51.

Eventually a three-pointer from freshman Allison Bulthius (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minn. Christian) tied the game, 54-54 with 3:38 to play. MBU would retake the lead on the next possession and, despite several chances, the Rams simply ran out of steam in their effort to complete the full comeback.

Freshman Bethany Shield (Lincoln, Neb./Southwest) led the Rams with a career-high 18 points on 5-8 shooting from the three-point area. Junior Haleigh Filer (Sacramento, Calif./Capital Christian) added 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Allison Bulthuis chipped in eight points.

The Rams will be back in action on Saturday at the University of Minnesota-Morris (Morris, Minn.). The Rams and Cougars are set for a 5 p.m. tip-off for their Upper Midwest Athletic Conference match-up. Links for video and live stats can be found at www.NCURams.com.