MINNEAPOLIS - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team saw its season come to a close with a 68-55 loss at North Central University (NCU) in the first round of the UMAC Women's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday.

The two teams were tied 14-14 after the opening quarter and were knotted up once again at 21-21 with 5:31 to play in the first half, but the Rams closed the second period with a 16-6 run to take a 37-27 lead into halftime.

The Knights came back in the third quarter, pulling within two points (42-40) following a Jordyn Heckendorf three-pointer with 4:26 remaining in the period, but NCU answered with a run to take a 55-47 lead into the fourth.

MLC continued to battle in the final quarter, but was unable to cut the deficit closer than six as the Rams' pressure defense forced five turnovers and held the Knights to 25.0 percent shooting over the final 10 minutes to secure the win.

The Rams entered the game as the UMAC's most prolific three-point shooting team, and the Knights did a good job holding them to just 8-37 (21.6 percent) from downtown for the game. NCU found other ways to score, however, and took advantage of the aggressive MLC defense by outscoring the Knights 18-4 in second-chance points.

Heckendorf finished with a team-high 16 points to go with five rebounds and three steals. She closed the season with six straight games in double figures, including four games with at least 16 points. 

Grace Kieselhorst added eight points and five rebounds off the bench for the Knights.

MLC finished the season 8-18 following the loss. NCU improved to 22-4 with the win, and advanced to the semi-final round of the tournament with the win.