MINNEAPOLIS – Finally back on their home floor after a quick stint on the road, the North Central University (NCU) women's basketball squad took on the defending UMAC champion Bethany Lutheran College (BLC) Vikings on Wednesday night. In a matchup that went down to a final possession, the Rams suffered a heartbreaking loss by a final score of 80-77.

Game Recap
 
In the first four minutes of action, the Rams did a great job of creating offensive opportunities from a few Viking turnovers. In the Rams' first handful of possessions, Kadija Conteh (London, UK, City of London Academy) and Emily DiGiorgio (Ironwood, MI, Luther L. Wright High School) got their offensive games going right away by each knocking down a three of their own, as well as two strong drives to the basket to give the Rams an early advantage. With 4:30 left in the first quarter, the score was knotted up 10-10 until Kadija Conteh found her way to the line and gave the Rams their first commanding lead of the game. Throughout the second quarter, the Rams went back-and-forth with the Vikings and traded leads multiple times. Halfway through the second quarter, the Rams went on an impressive 8-1 run as a result of knocking down 4 of 5 shots from the field during that span. This catapulted the Rams back into taking their biggest lead of the entire game, 33-30. After a few more minutes of trading the lead, a couple of Bethany Lutheran three-pointers to close out the first half, the Vikings held the upper hand 36-33.
 
The Blue and Gold came out in the second half hot by drilling a quick three from Kadija Conteh, assisted on a beautiful ball by Bethany Shield (Lincoln, NE, Lincoln Southwest). After battling it out early in the third quarter, the Vikings' sharpshooters started to dial in from long range. From 5:45 to the 2:30 mark, Bethany Lutheran managed an 11-0 run generated by going 3-of-3 from the three-point arc. This resulted in the Vikings creating their largest lead of the game, as they led by 10 heading into the fourth quarter. With eight minutes left to play in the quarter, the Rams showed tremendous heart and battled their way back into the game and a 2-point deficit after two massive three-pointers from Jocelyn Talso (Blaine, MN, Spring Lake Park High School) and Emily DiGiorgio. Down the final stretch of the game, the Vikings slowly regained a small lead by forcing the Rams' backcourt to turn the ball over in two key possessions. North Central did not allow the turnovers to dictate the ending of the game, as with 1:30 remaining, NCU clawed their way back to a one-point game. After being unable to stop BLC in their final possession of the game, the Rams were unable to execute their last offensive possession. This then led the former UMAC champs to take the game by a final score of 80-77. Even though the Rams did not come out victorious in this one, they kept pace with the most competitive team they will face for all 40 minutes of the contest. This will be a key component moving forward, as the team is in the middle of a crucial playoff hunt.
 


Key Performer(s)

• Emily DiGiorgio had a career night. The junior center cliched another double-double while also dropping her career-high in points with 28. 11 rebounds.
• Kadija Conteh sparked the Rams to multiple runs while also managing 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Looking Ahead

As mentioned previously, the NCU women's basketball team is right in the middle of searching for a UMAC playoff spot. The team currently sits at a 9-11 overall record, and 5-6 in the UMAC. The next two matchups for the Rams will drastically determine their playoff appearance hopes. The Blue and Gold will travel up north this Saturday to take on the University of Wisconsin, Superior Yellowjackets in a pivotal UMAC affair, with tip-off set for 4:45pm. Fans can find stats and live streaming information of the upcoming game across the @ncurams social media platforms, as well as ncurams.com.