NEW ULM — North Central University defeated Martin Luther College 72-58 on Wednesday in a women’s Upper Midwest Athletic Conference contest.

The Rams put together an 11-2 run to pull away from the Knights. Kortney Behnke’s basket tied it at 2-2. Naomi Hagstrom hit two 3s, Kadija Conteh added a 3 and a basket.

NCU end the first quarter with a 7-2 run for a 27-11 Ram lead. Emily Wikowski scored on a third-chance basket.

Midway through the second quarter, NCU had a 9-0 run which culminated with a steal by Jocelyn Talso who scored a layup for a 39-24 Ram halftime lead.

MLC made it interesting during the third quarter. Both teams traded baskets throughout the period with NCU outscoring the Knights 13-12.

Witkowski hit two free throws to start the fourth quarter. Ally Platzer hit a 3, making it 53-42. MLC became more aggressive in its defense, double teaming when it could, using a full-court press trying to force NCU into making mistakes.

Witkowski missed a shot, Casandra Rose scored a put-back basket to cut the deficit to 11 points. MLC got within 8 points when Platzer scored a basket, was fouled and she made the free throw. NCU scored key baskets, rebounded well and played good defense.

“We outplayed them other than in making shots that hit the hoop,” MLC head coach Dan Gawrisch said. “Our effort was solid, and it has been solid all season long, so I’m proud of how hard we played tonight.”

Witkowski led MLC with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Platzer had 11 points. Emily DiGiorgio led NCU with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Hagstron added 18 points, Allison Bulthuis addded 13 points and Jocelyn Talso had 10 points.

MLC (3-19, 3-11) will play at the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Wednesday.