ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. -- North Central University (NCU) women's basketball hit the road for the second straight contest as they traveled to their rival, Crown College. The Rams used a fast start to fuel an impressive road victory.
Emily DiGiorgio led the way for the Rams as she registered yet another impressive performance, notching 18 points. but the story for the road team was their defensive effort. NCU suffocated the Storm all evening long as they ran away with a 72-53 victory.
Game Recap
Heading into a must win game on the road, North Central looked determined from the opening tip. North Central's dynamic duo of
Emily DiGiorgio and
Naomi Hagstrom once again led the Rams efforts, helping the team never trail in the matchup. In a fast paced first quarter, NCU dropped 20 points on the Storm, primarily behind the gritty efforts of
Allison Bulthuis (four points) and DiGiorgio (four points). The balanced attack was also in large part because of the solid guard play from
Kadija Conteh who continues to effortlessly carve up opposing defenses with her speed and passing ability. After one quarter, the Rams were on top 20-16.
Entering the second quarter, the Blue and Gold turned up the heat on the defensive side of the ball as they held Crown to only six points in the quarter. While doing their job on the defensive side of the ball, North Central also produced its highest point total in a quarter for the game by dropping 22 on the hosts. DiGiorgio poured in eight points in the quarter while Hagstrom added six of her own. Also contributing in a major way were
Jocelyn Talso and
Bethany Shield who both hit big threes late in the quarter to push the lead at halftime to 42-22.
Out of the half, NCU cooled slightly on the offensive end as they only scored 13 points in the third quarter. The offense was enough though as NCU's steady defense could not be stopped in route to allowing only 11 points in the ten minutes of play. Behind the defensive efforts, North Central allowed only two fast break points in the quarter with a steady dose of hustle from offensive to defensive possession. After three quarters, the Rams led by a score of 55-33.
In the final quarter of play, North Central was able to see its lead balloon to 67-39 before giving its bench a chance to shine in the final minutes of the game. Upon entering the game,
Micayla Jones and
Hannah Grubbs were able to both provide an additional cushion to the Rams lead. In the final quarter, 11 of the teams 17 points were scored by the bench. Coach
Paul Brunner's team finished the contest with a final score of 72-53, led by a tremendous shooting effort (56.8% from the field).
Key Performers
Looking Ahead
The Rams will be on the road for the final time of their regular season slate as they travel to Ashland, Wisconsin to take on Northland College. Opening tip is slated for 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday evening in another must win game for the Rams.
Media: For further information, contact
Mike Knipe at 612-343-3541 or email mjknipe@northcentral.edu.
