Minneapolis, MN -- On Saturday, North Central University (NCU) Women's Basketball continued its home stand with another non-conference matchup against a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponent as the Rams took on the Carleton College (CC) Knights. This would be the first-ever meeting between these two programs, as last year's slated contest was canceled due to Carleton having to cancel their season. North Central looked to get in the win column after losing their first two contests to start the year. Today, Carleton took home the 59-41 win as NCU is left still searching for its first win.
The first half of the game started out in the Rams' favor as they racked up 14 points to lead the Knights by 5 in the first quarter. North Central's aggressive play in the paint, led by Kaitlyn VanderPloeg and Brycelyn Brewster, allowed them to pull ahead early on. However, as the game progressed, Carleton began to pick up speed and put points on the board as the minutes ticked down in the first half. Despite a late push from North Central, including a few strong efforts from VanderPloeg, Carleton's defensive play and free throws ultimately put them ahead going into halftime. Neither team was very efficient on offense, as the Knights shot 37.5% (12-32) from the field and 9.1% (1-11) from deep. NCU shot just 26.9% (7-26) from the field and 16.7% (1-6) from three.
To start the second half, Carleton started to find their rhythm offensively as they began to bring their lead to double digits. However, Kaitlyn VanderPloeg propelled the Rams with a big-time and-one play off the feed from McKenzie Latzke. After a driving layup from Brycelyn Brewster in the final minute of the third, the Rams trailed 47-36 heading into the final quarter. The fourth quarter got off to a rocky start with numerous missed shots and turnovers by both teams. North Central struggled to find offensive output as a Latzke three-pointer with 7:03 to play and a layup by Brewster at 4:50 would be the only Rams points in the final ten minutes. Meanwhile, the Knights worked themselves to the charity stripe and extended their lead to 18 points. NCU went on to lose 59-41 to Carleton.
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Up next, women's basketball travels to Decorah, Iowa for their first road game of the season. The Rams will square off with Luther College on Wednesday, November, 20th at 7:00 PM.
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