MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team lost a second straight tight contest to North Central University on Saturday, following an overtime contest between the two teams in Morris last month. This time around, the Rams came back from a six-point deficit at halftime and used a pair of runs in the fourth quarter to emerge with a 50-47 victory. The Cougars fall to 8-13 (5-5 UMAC) with the loss.

Lexus Eagle Chasing opened the scoring on the afternoon with a three-pointer, only for North Central to respond with a 10-2 run to go on top, 10-5. Baskets from Haley Wollschlager and Ella Van Kempen in the last 90 seconds of the quarter gave the Rams a 10-9 lead after 10 minutes of play.

A three-ball from Wollschlager and a free throw from Jadyn Sondrol put the finishing touches on an 8-0 run as the second quarter got underway. With the Cougars trailing, 20-15, five quick points from Malory Anderson ignited a 13-2 burst going into the locker rooms to put Minnesota Morris ahead, 28-22, at the break.

Eagle Chasing started the second half with consecutive baskets to put Minnesota Morris ahead by double-digits, 32-22. That's when North Central began to chip away at the lead. By the time the frame ended, the Cougar advantage was down to 39-36.

North Central began the fourth quarter with six straight points to take a 42-39 lead on Minnesota Morris. Ella Van Kempen stopped the scoreless stretch for the Cougars and Anderson hit a three-pointer a minute later to give UMN Morris a 44-42 edge midway through the quarter. The game would then hit the skids as neither team tallied a point for more than two minutes, but the Rams were able to get to the line and hit a pair, tying the game at 44-44 and starting an 8-0 run that gave them a 50-44 lead with under a minute-and-a-half remaining. In the closing moments of the game, Van Kempen converted an and-one to trim the NCU lead down to three, but the Cougars were unable to score on two subsequent possessions as time expired.

Van Kempen finished the day with 11 points and six rebounds. Anderson also was in double-figures, ending with 10 points and six boards. Eagle Chasing had seven points and a team-high eight rebounds. Jay Kwateh contributed seven rebounds, five steals, and four assists.

The Cougars remain on the road next weekend, starting the weekend off on Friday night with a 5:30 p.m. game at Martin Luther College in New Ulm.