MINNEAPOLIS -- North Central outscored the UW-Superior women's basketball team 18-14 in the fourth quarter to secure a 63-57 victory in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play at Clark-Danielson Gymnasium on Friday.
 
Trailing by a 45-43 margin entering the final 10 minutes, the Yellowjackets were unable to battle all the way back from a lead that grew to as many as eight points three times in the quarter, falling to 7-13 overall and 5-6 in the UMAC. 
 
Sophomore Elise Besonen (Ewen, Mich./Ewen-Trout Creek) led three UWS players in double figures with 14 points, while senior Kaelyn Christian (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior) and junior Bryton Kukowski (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) each scored 10. Kukowski also pulled down four rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench, her first game action in more than a month due to injury.  
 
Superior closed to within 53-50 on a Besonen layup with 6:12 remaining, but North Central's Kayla Hola and Joelle Talso combined for the next five points, with Talso draining a 3-pointer at the 5:06 mark, to provide separation. UWS cut the deficit to five at 62-57 on a Christian trey inside the final minute, but it wasn't enough.
 
Hola finished with a double-double of 18 points and 12 boards, leading all players, as North Central improved to 13-9 overall and 7-4 in the league.
 
UWS, which trailed, 18-12, after the first quarter, used a strong second stanza to shave the Rams' edge to just 31-29 at halftime. UWS reeled off a quick 5-1 spurt as the half drew to a close, getting scoring contributions from Kukowski, junior Sam Parendo (Proctor, Minn./Proctor) and Christian. The 'Jackets shot 6-for-15 in the quarter overall and hit a pair of 3-pointers before playing even with North Central in the third.
 
The Rams, who were 24-for-57 (42.1 percent) from the field on the night, limited Superior to just over 32 percent from the floor on 20-of-62 shooting. UWS turned NCU over 17 times, leading to 15 points, but were outrebounded, 41-39.
 
North Central's Brycelyn Brewster added 13 points and two steals and Caitlyn Ryan had six points, 11 rebounds and two steals. 
 
Junior Erika Mattson (Ely, Minn./Ely Memorial) collected a team-leading eight rebounds for UWS, a career high.
 
Superior is back in action at North Central Saturday at 4:45 p.m.