MORRIS, Minn. – The women's basketball game between the University of Minnesota Morris and North Central University was postponed for one month before being played on Monday night. It turned out to be worth the wait. In a thrilling game on Jim Gremmels Court, the Cougars overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter, sending the game to overtime on a three-pointer just before the buzzer from Jadyn Sondrol before the Rams held on down the stretch in the extra session to take home an 85-80 win. 

The first quarter belonged to NCU as the Rams came out hot from beyond the arc. North Central canned five three-pointers in the opening 10 minutes and then added another on the first possession of the second quarter to take a 25-15 lead on the Cougars. 

The lead was still six for the Rams, 31-25, after Aubrey Robinson swiped the ball and raced downcourt for a breakaway layup with just under five minutes to play, but the shots suddenly stopped falling for North Central and Minnesota Morris would finish the half on a 9-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Lexie Winter to take a 34-31 halftime edge.

The UMN Morris lead grew to seven in the opening moments of the third quarter as Sondrol knocked down back-to-back threes, but the inside presence of Emily DiGiorgio began to pay dividends for North Central. The NCU post player scored 13 points in the quarter to give the Rams a 52-48 advantage heading to the fourth.

With just over seven minutes to play, a Robinson three-pointer gave North Central a 63-52 lead and the Rams seemed to be in control. Out of nowhere, Minnesota Morris embarked on a 14-2 run in just over four minutes to take a 66-65 lead following a three-pointer and layup from Tariq Brownotter. NCU answered back with a 6-0 run, going on top, 71-66, on a nifty stepback jumper from Robinson with a minute left. The Cougars were in scramble mode in the final seconds, but Sondrol saved them by hitting a two-pointer with five seconds left to make it 71-68. Following a pair of misses at the line from the Rams and a timeout to advance the ball to halfcourt, Minnesota Morris inbounded the ball to Sondrol in the corner and she rattled in a triple with less than a second remaining to force an extra session.

Overtime was back and forth in the early going, ending up tied at 78-78 following a pair of free throws from Haley Wollschlager. North Central then pulled ahead by making its freebies, scoring five straight at the stripe before a late layup from Ella Van Kempen got the Cougars within 83-80. Bethany Shield clinched the win for the Rams with a jumper with less than 20 ticks left to make it a five-point game and Minnesota Morris was unable to come up with anything on the other end.

Sondrol finished the night with a team-high 24 points. Van Kempen had 12 points, with Eagle Chasing getting a double-double for the second game in a row with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Justine Day came off the bench for eight points, not missing a shot from the field or the line.

Minnesota Morris goes on the road this weekend with a pair of UMAC contests in Wisconsin. First up is a Friday night matchup at Northland College in Ashland beginning at 5:30 p.m.