MINNEAPOLIS -- Sophomore Katie Dobson's (Black River Falls, Wis./Black River Falls) 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark as the UW-Superior women's basketball team fell in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference semifinals to North Central, 52-50, at Clark-Danielson Gymnasium on Friday.
 
The Yellowjackets erased an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit, tying the game at 45-45 on a free-throw line jumper by junior Erika Mattson (Ely, Minn./Ely Memorial) with 2:25 remaining. The lead changed hands five times from that point, the last of which came with 24 seconds on the clock as North Central's Joelle Talso hit a layup for a 51-50 advantage. 
 
After Mattson knotted the game, a pair of Kaitlyn VanderPloeg free throws tipped the score in the Rams' favor. Senior Kaelyn Christian (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior) responded with a 3-pointer for a 48-47 UWS lead with 1:49 left before Brycelyn Brewster grabbed an offensive rebound on the next trip down the floor and Talso scored in the paint to give NCU the edge again. 
 
Junior Bryton Kukowski (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) misfired on a pair of free throws with 1:04 left, but sophomore Elise Besonen (Ewen, Mich./Ewen-Trout Creek) knocked down a jumper for a 50-49 Superior lead with 30 seconds to go prior to Talso's go-ahead bucket.
 
Christian led all players with 17 points with 17 points on 5-for-17 shooting in her final game as a Yellowjacket. Besonen added seven points and six rebounds in the loss, which ended Superior's season at 10-14 overall. North Central (16-10) advances to face top-seeded Northwestern for the UMAC championship Sunday at 2 p.m., at the Ericksen Center in St. Paul.
 
UWS built a 16-7 lead through the first quarter and led, 25-17, at halftime. The Rams used a 19-point third quarter to take a 36-32 lead into the final 10 minutes. North Central scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, widening the lead to 40-32 with two Destiny Hines free throws.
 
Trailing 45-37 at the 4:25 mark, Superior reeled off seven consecutive points in 90 seconds. Christian drained one of her four treys on the night, freshman Elsa Olson (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) added a bucket and Mattson tied it with her jumper.
 
Talso led the Rams with 13 points and three steals while VanderPloeg had eight points, five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. 
 
North Central shot 36.7 percent from the field for the game, limiting UWS to 30.2 percent. The 'Jackets, though, carried a commanding 49-30, rebounding advantage, including a 19-5 edge on the offensive glass.