Minneapolis, MN - The Northland College Lumberjills fell just short of the North Central Rams on Wednesday.  The Jills lost a nail-biter, 80-76.  The game had several ties and lead changes.  Despite making a 3-point basket to start the game, the Rams went cold from the floor and the Jills took advantage.  Northland went on a 9-0 run to start the game fueled by two buckets from Freshman Sarah Dunbar, a 3-pointer from Freshman Ashley Lopez and a jumper from Freshman Miranda Wagner.  Then it was time for the Rams to go on a run and tie the game up at 9, with 6:12 to go in the quarter.  Foul trouble affected the Jills and allowed the Rams to get to the charity stripe toward the end of the quarter, but Northland kept the lead in a highly contested first quarter.  The Jills led 17-15 after one quarter.
 
North Central came out firing to start quarter two and immediately went on a 8-0 run to go up on the Jills 23-17.  Both teams began trading baskets until Dunbar hit two from the line to again tie the game at 28 with 4:44 to go in the half.  The Rams took back the lead and went ahead by 6 with less than two minutes to go, 40-34.  The Jills responded as Freshman Bailey Wynn hit a 3-pointer, then Freshman Alex Espinoza made both at the line bringing them within 1 point, 40-39.  North Central fired back on the next possession with a 3-pointer, but Wagner was fouled with 4.1 seconds to go and hit both at the line to bring the Rams lead down to 2, 43-41 going into halftime.
 
The 3rd quarter went back and forth with both teams trading buckets for the first few minutes of the quarter.  The Rams hit a 3 pointer to take the lead back, 52-50, but Wynn fired back a 3-pointer of her own to put the Jills back on top 53-52 with just over five minutes to go.  The Rams attacked the full court pressure from the Jills and scored inside on their next 4 possessions to go up 7 on NC, 60-53.  Sophomore Aja Gregg ended the Rams scoring run with a jumper in the lane.  The Rams split a pair of free throws on their next possession.  The Jills couldn't connect on their next possession, but Sophomore Bianca Avalos stole the Rams inbound pass and fed Wagner for a layup.  The Rams split pairs of free throws on their next two possession and Wagner scored in the lane to end the quarter bringing the Jills within 4, 63-59.
 
North Central's Emily DiGiorgio scored on the first two possessions for the Rams in the fourth quarter.  The Rams used this momentum to grow their lead to 10, which was their largest lead of the game 73-63.  The Jills were not ready to be counted out just yet.  Wynn hit a 3-pointer, Dunbar scored in the lane and Gregg put back a Wynn miss to bring Northland back within 3, 73-70 with 4:13 to go in the game.  Both teams were battling hard and traded baskets on the next possessions but Sophomore Lindsay Bressette brought the Rams lead down to 2 (76-74) with a nifty jumper in the lane with about a minute to go.  The Rams made a layup on their next possession and Bressette couldn't get her shot to fall.  The Rams missed their next shot and Dunbar roared back with another jumper in the lane with 26.1 to go leaving the Rams still up 2, 78-76.  Northland needed a steal since the Rams could basically let the clock run out and they were forced to foul.  DiGiorgio hit both from the line and with a two possession lead, 80-76 the Jills just ran out of time. 
 
The Jills played a very clean and efficient game overall with 14 assists and only 7 turnovers on the night.  They forced the Rams into 28 turnovers.  Northland had solid scoring balance from their guards, with Wagner scoring 17, Bressette had 15, Wynn scored 14 and Dunbar chipped in 10.  Gregg also had a solid game in the post for the Jills scoring 12 points and nabbing 10 rebounds.  DiGiorgio led the Rams with 17 points and 16 rebounds. 
 
Northland looks to rebound on Saturday when they face another tough UMAC opponent as they host the Eagles of Northwestern.