Minneapolis, MN - MLC women faced North Central following a hard fought loss to Northwestern. The Knights quickly responded with a strong first half against the Rams and were able to hold off a North Central rally, defeating the Rams 59-54.

    Early on MLC was effective getting to the foul line, where they shot 9-12 in the first half from the charity stripe. The Knights only shot four 3-pointers in the first half, but did not need much production from the perimeter, as they found a lot of success in attacking the basket, scoring 22 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes. Guard Jordyn Heckendorf had a big first half for MLC scoring 14 points to lead the Knights at halftime. The Knights also played solid defense, forcing North Central to shoot 25 percent from the field. As a result, MLC led the Rams 36-19 at the half.

    In the second half, senior Erika Gosch gave the Knights an added boost, making critical plays down the stretch. The forward had a season high 15 points and six rebounds for MLC. The Rams made a final push with a big fourth quarter scoring 20 points, but the Knights were able to prevent a North Central comeback, despite the adjustments made from the Rams and picked up their first UMAC win of the season. The win also gave MLC its second road win of the year, with the first coming at Waldorf in November.

The Knights (7-8, 1-4) will play a home game against Crown on Friday, January 20th, where they will look to collect a second UMAC victory on the year.