NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team was unable to hold a second-half lead in a 72-71 loss to North Central on Wednesday.

The Knights led 37-31 at halftime and pushed their lead to 48-31 thanks to an 11-0 run to start the third quarter. 

NCU made a run to cut the deficit to 57-47 at the end of the third quarter, and took the lead (70-68) with 17 to seconds to play.

MLC had several chances at the free throw line to tie the game in the final seconds, but were unable to convert to give NCU the win.

The Knights shot 42.4 percent from the field in the first half, but struggled to shoot 27.3 percent in the final two quarters. NCU shot 53.6 percent in the second half.

Grace Schultz led four MLC players in double figures with 16 points along with 10 rebounds. Jade St. Germaine scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds. Emily Witkowski and Hailey Johnson added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

MLC fell to 5-16 on the season and 3-9 in league play in defeat. NCU improved to 7-12 overall and 3-9 in UMAC play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, February 3, when they travel to St. Scholastica for a game scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m.