New Ulm, MN - MLC women finished the evening of basketball on a positive note and defeated North Central for the second time this season, 84-77.

    The Knights came into the matchup with the Rams after a close loss in the final seconds to Crown, where MLC was called for a shooting foul that pushed the Polars over the top by one (75-74). Friday night's game ended in a different manner and the Knights were able to close out their opponent. Both teams played a fairly even first half and had an equal amount of points in the paint (22). Neither team could get much going from beyond the arc, as the Knights shot 14.3 percent on 1-of-7 from the floor, while the Rams went 2-of-14 on 28.6 percent shooting. The biggest lead of the first half came around the 1:43 mark after Destiny Hines connected on a layup to push NCU up 36-29. The Rams would eventually lead 36-31 at the break.

    NCU started the second half off with solid passing and found open teammates in the corner of the 3-point line, to go up by seven again (46-39) early in the third quarter. MLC quickly responded with a Jordyn Heckendorf fadeaway jumper that kept the Knights within striking distance down 48-45. MLC then found their offensive rhythm and tied NCU up at 50-50, after Emma Nelson hit a crucial 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:24 left. Heckendorf followed that shot up with an old-fashioned 3-point play to give the Knights their first lead of the game since the 3:39 mark of the first quarter.

    The Rams did push back and would reclaim the lead after Caitlyn Ryan had an old-fashioned 3-point play of her own and NCU would go up one at the end of the third quarter.

    In the fourth quarter, MLC hit multiple clutch baskets to not only take the lead back, but to ultimately ice the game. The Knights received a big play from Jayden Koehler, who hit a 3-pointer from the wing, that came off a drive and kick from senior Ally Platzer. The guard showed up to play again for the Knights in crunchtime and this time the Knights came out with the victory.

    MLC finished the game out with a pair of free throws from Heckendorf and Lisa Hoffer to secure their second UMAC win of the 2023 season.

    The Knights played a full 40 minutes of basketball and Coach Dan Gawrisch showed his support of the team by saying, "I'm very happy for the girls. They've put in a lot of time and energy up to this point and have had to overcome a lot. I'm proud to be their coach and I'm excited that they get to be rewarded with a win tonight."

    Heckendorf led the Knights with 20 points and nine rebounds. Nelson chipped in 15 points, while Grace Kieselhorst and Kortney Behnke got into double-figures with 12 and 11 points respectively. 

    The win puts MLC at (9-15, 2-11) on the season. The KNights will finish things out with one final home game against Northwestern, when they square off against the Eagles at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, February, 18.