Joplin, MO -- The North Central University (NCU) women's basketball traveled down to Missouri to compete in the NCCAA Championship Tournament. After sweeping their North Region opponents, they would be matched up against #4 Pensacola Christian (PCC) from northwest Florida. Although the #5 seeded North Central would lead the game in many key statistical areas, a lackluster 3-23 (13%) shooting from three-point range would make things tough on the Rams. The evenly matched teams kept fans on the edge of their seats, but ultimately Pensacola came out victorious, winning 62-53.

Out of the gates, Pensacola showed up with aggression and was able to lead North Central steadily throughout the first quarter. PCC established its deep range early on, heating up from downtown to gain the early lead. A couple of huge blocks from freshmen Caitlyn Ryan would lead to a string of defensive stops for the Rams near the end of the first. Even with this slight bit of momentum shift, the Eagles seemed to have their way on the offensive end leading to a 24-10 lead after the first 10 minutes. At the start of the second quarter, the Rams would gain some life with huge buckets from Bryce Brewster and Kaitlyn VanderPloeg to cut the deficit to single digits. The scoring would become limited until 4 minutes to go, when the teams would start trading buckets. Mia Mabanag and Brewster would lead the Rams in first half scoring with 8 and 7 points respectively. North Central would head into the break trailing 38-27.

Entering the second half, NCU looked to mount a comeback. However, Pensacola's quickness allowed their guards to get downhill and convert in the paint time and time again. Stuffing the stat sheet with 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 blocks, VanderPloeg's strong third-quarter performance would keep the Rams within striking distance. NCU would trail 52-42 going into the final quarter of play. In the fourth quarter, the Blue and Gold's defense held PCC to just 10 points as they challenged the Eagle's lead in the final minutes. A timely Lydia Schroeder three-pointer and a made layup from Brewster would bring the game to within 6 with 1:41 left. Unfortunately, Pensacola was able to pull ahead from the charity stripe to win the game with a final score of 62-53.


Top Performers:

Kaitlyn VanderPloeg (Clear Lake, IA): 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks
Joelle Talso (Ramsey, MN): 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists
Mia Mabanag (Danville, CA): 10 points
Caitlyn Ryan (Papillion, NE): 3 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks


Looking Ahead:

NCU Women's Basketball will compete tomorrow at 10 a.m. against the #8 seeded Campbellsville-Harrodsburg University. Following this round-one loss, they will still have the opportunity the compete for a 5th place finish with a win tomorrow. 

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