SUPERIOR, Wis. -- North Central limited the UW-Superior women's basketball team to single digits in the first and fourth quarters, pulling away for a 64-51 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference victory at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium on Saturday.
 
The Rams (11-7, 5-2 UMAC) held the Yellowjackets (5-10, 3-4) to seven points in the first quarter and eight in the fourth, while shooting over 54 percent (26-for-48) from the field. Kaitlyn VanderPloeg tallied 17 points and eight rebounds and Joelle Talso recorded 15 points, five assists and two steals to pace NCU.
 
Sophomore Katie Dobson (Black River Falls, Wis./Black River Falls) led UWS with 14 points and seven boards. Kaelyn Christian (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior) registered 12 points and three rebounds.
 
North Central led, 16-7 after the first quarter and 32-22, at halftime. UWS climbed back into the game outscoring NCU, 21-15, in the third quarter before the visitor used a 17-point final 10 minutes to secure the victory.
 
UWS whittled its third-quarter deficit to as few as three points two times on a Dobson 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining, making it 44-41 after a jumper from classmate Chloe Peterson (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) helped close to within 41-38 over a minute prior.
 
A steal and trey in transition by Talso reestablished a double-digit lead for the Rams at 60-48 with 4:24 to play. NCU had led by as many as 15 points, 28-13, on another Talso triple with 6:42 left in the second quarter.
 
UWS shot 32.7 percent on 17-for-52 from the floor and turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 19 points. North Central also dominated inside with 28 points in the paint. UWS, however, won the rebounding battle, 35-27.
 
The Yellowjackets are back in action at Finlandia Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., CT.