Box Score St. Paul, MN -- The North Central University (NCU) women's basketball team starts off the new year with an away game against the University of Northwestern (UNW) Eagles. As both teams came into the game undefeated in conference play, this rival matchup kept fans on the edge of their seats as the Rams came back to tie in the fourth. The final score resulted in nail biter loss for North Central, losing 64-73.

NCU found themselves running into some foul trouble to start off the first quarter with almost half of UNW's points made on the line. The Eagles lead by 7 towards the end of the quarter as Joelle Talso brought spark back in the Rams with a three to keep the game competitive. In the second quarter, the Blue and Gold found a hot streak with back-to-back shots from Kayla Hola and a 10-2 run that brought the deficit down to 4 points. Northwestern had the final say in the half, as they shot consistently downtown leading 36-29 going into the locker room.

Quarter three gave UNW another lead advantage as they shot back-to-back three's early on. NCU trailed by a constant 10 points in this quarter led by Joelle Talso's competitive looks and Caitlyn Ryan's aggressive boards. Mia Mabanag put the pressure on Northwestern in the final quarter as she drilled 12 points in 4 game minutes. This hot streak drew these rivals to a tie with one minute remaining. Eagles drove the ball hard to the paint resulting in multiple free throw advantages. NCU couldn't pull ahead as they took a loss with a final score of 64-73.

Top Performers:

Mia Mabanag (Danville, CA): 21 points and 2 rebounds
Joelle Talso (Ramsey, MN): 13 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals
Caitlyn Ryan (Papillion, NE): 8 points and 9 rebounds
Kayla Hola (Bastrop, TX): 8 points, 1 block, and 1 steal

Looking Ahead:

NCU will continue UMAC play at home against Bethany Lutheran on Friday at 7:15 p.m. and Martin Luther on Saturday at 4:45 p.m.

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