The loss eliminated the Knights (11-14, 4-8) from playoff contention in the UMAC and clinched a UMAC playoff berth for the Rams (13-12, 6-5).

The Knights finished with just 10 turnovers to the Rams’ 19 but hit on just 17 of 70 shots in the game (24.3%). The Rams went 21 of 55 from the floor (38.2%).

“It was a physical game and we’ve just got to be stronger and finish through contact,” Knights head coach Dan Gawrisch said. “It’s the stretch we’re in and it just came at a bad time. The last five games, we’ve just been ice cold inside and out and I thought we snapped out of it a little bit the last two games, but not for four quarters, and tonight we shot 70 field-goal attempts to their 55 because of all the turnovers to our 10, yet the points off turnovers was 12 to 12.

“We missed layups to convert, and that’s just the game. The players did everything we asked them to do, I felt like we put ourselves in a position to win and the ball just didn’t drop for us and they got hot in the second half.”

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther College’s Lydia Feidt watches a corner 3-point attempt of hers during an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball game against the North Central University Rams on Wednesday at MLC.

Ella Walz led the Knights with 14 points, while Ava Stein had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Wilhelmina Wenz had 12 points and 13 rebounds also for the Knights, while the team’s lone senior Lydia Feidt finished with 8 points, six rebounds and three assists.

While the Knights have to say goodbye to just one senior this season in Feidt, Gawrisch said much of the team’s toughness has come from her and her leadership during her time at MLC.

“A lot of that resilience and grit that you saw tonight and throughout the season is a tribute to Lydia and her mindset,” Gawrisch said. “She knows what it’s like to battle through injuries and play through pain, to come back from significant injuries. She’s just been such an exceptional leader for us, not just this year, but for four years, and always bringing the defensive effort, always in the right position and has great poise on the boards. She’s going to be a tremendous teacher and coach, so I’m really excited for her future.”

NiNi Davenport led the Rams with 17 points, while Brycelyn Brewster had 15 points and five rebounds and Lydia Schroeder had 8 points and five rebounds.

The Knights got off on the right foot in the first quarter, led by a 9-0 run to put them up 16-9. The run started with a fast-break layup by Wenz and was followed by a bucket inside from Stein, free throws from Walz and a 3 by Feidt.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther College’s Ava Walz drives to the basket during the second half of Wednesday’s UMAC women’s basketball game against North Central University at MLC.

The Rams trailed 16-11 after the first period but improved on their shooting in the second quarter, while the Knights shot just 18.8% in the second to help the Rams gain ground before the half. A 3 by Ella Walz late in the second quarter had the Knights up 28-20, but the Rams got a jumper from Lindsay Jackie and a 3 by Brewster in the final minute to trail just 28-25 at halftime.

Schroeder sank a 3 to tie the game at 31-all with 7:35 left in the third, but Stein gave the Knights the lead back on a putback. Davenport then hit a jumper to again tie the game, but Wenz scored on a fast break to give the Knights a 35-33 lead.

That Wenz bucket turned into a 6-0 run for the Knights as Stein scored back-to-back buckets for a 39-33 Knights lead. Despite the Knights growing their lead to 7 in the third after that, the Rams again ended the quarter strong and trailed 43-40 going into the final quarter.

A Davenport 3 quickly tied the game up again and moments later the Rams took a lead for good after Brewster scored back-to-back buckets for a 49-45 lead. The Rams couldn’t get a bigger lead than 7 after that as the Knights hung in, with a corner 3 by freshman Ava Walz having the Knights down just 57-54 with 21 seconds left.

Even with Ava Walz’s clutch 3, the Rams were able to hit on 4 of 6 free throws after that and keep the Knights off the board to preserve the win.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther College’s Wilhelmina Wenz puts up a layup during Wednesday’s UMAC women’s basketball game against North Central University at MLC. Wenz finished with a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Despite the season-ending loss, Gawrisch was proud of the resilience and grit his players showed during the season.

The Knights lost junior Mya Morris, one of the team’s and UMAC’s top players, to a season-ending knee injury a few weeks ago during an overtime loss at home to the University of Minnesota Morris on Jan. 7. Before that, the Knights started the season without freshman Payton Holub due to injury and they were also without junior leader Anna Kieselhorst for half the season due to a broken hand sustained in the team’s second game of the year.

“I can’t remember a season like this where we’ve been just slammed with an injury bug, but it’s been one of those years and these players never quit,” Gawrisch said. “You saw it again tonight. They kept battling all the way to the very end and that’s how every game has been. Just grind it out, and we’ve put ourselves in position to win a lot of games and I think overachieve without what could be the conference Player of the Year [Mya Morris].”

After losing Mya Morris, the Knights asked more from players like Wenz, who had to be relied on to shoot the ball more, and Kieselhorst, who returned from her injury and played just two games with Morris before Morris’ injury.

“Hopefully we’ve paid our dues with the injuries for the next few years, but it’s bittersweet always to lose one or lose three seniors like we did last year who are significant starters,” Gawrisch said. “Just look at the first half of the season we had this year with players stepping in. Then when Mya goes down, it was a great opportunity for Willy to step up and she stepped right into that role.

Staff photos by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther College’s Ella Walz shoots a 3 during the first half of Wednesday’s UMAC women’s basketball game against North Central University at MLC.

“And Anna Kieselhorst coming back from a broken hand, she led us in scoring a number of nights. I know the shot wasn’t falling tonight, but I think every player took a step forward, a big jump forward this year.”