NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team battled North Central to the end of a 72-58 loss in Wednesday's home finale.

The Rams started fast and built a 27-11 lead after one quarter, but MLC would play them even the rest of the way. 

The Knights outscored NCU 13-12 in the second quarter as they trailed 39-24 at the half, and then cut the deficit to eight points (65-57) with under two minutes to play following a pair fo Ally Platzer free throws.

That would be as close as the Knights would get, however, as NCU ended the game on a 7-1 run to secure the win.

MLC gave itself plenty of opportunities on the offensive end thanks to 33 offensive rebounds and 26 NCU turnovers, but finished the game shooting just 24.0 percent from the field and 16.7 percent (4-24) from beyond the three-point arc. The Knights did outscore the Rams 19-2 in second-chance points and 20-14 in points off turnovers, but the missed opportunities were tough to overcome.

Emily Witkowski led MLC with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Platzer added 11 points, while Helley Engelbrecht finished with nine points off the bench.

The Knights fell to 3-19 on the season and 3-11 in UMAC play in defeat. NCU improved to 10-13 overall and 6-7 in league play with the win.

MLC will return to action on Saturday, February 15, when it travels to UW-Superior for a game scheduled to start at 4:45 pm..