MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – After securing their fourth Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) victory Friday night against Northwestern, the Yellowjacket women's basketball team were seeking their fifth-straight conference victory over North Central.
 
The Rams however, had other plans.
 
North Central began the scoring off a jumper from Kayla Hola, but the Yellowjackets quickly countered with Erika Mattson (Ely, Minn./Ely Memorial) dishing it out to Charlotte Ferstl (Plain, Wis./River Valley) for a jumper of her own. The Rams continued to answer back before Katie Dobson (Black River Falls, Wis./Black River Falls) would then nail a three pointer and Mattson finished a layup to take a 7-6 lead.
 
Play would continue as Besonen nailed a three, but the Rams would convert on a turn around jumper and a layup to regain the lead at 11-10. Hannah Hause (Stanley, Wis./Stanley-Boyd) later took a pass from Elsa Olson (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) and hit a jumper inside the paint, which led to teams trading points for the remainder of the period. After the first, the score sat in favor of the Yellowjackets, 22-21.
 
The 'Jackets started to get in a groove in the second quarter, which was commenced by a layup courtesy of Hause. The Rams answered back quickly with a layup of their own, but Besonen and Ferstl made a combination of layups and jump shots, forcing a Rams timeout as they trailed 31-26. North Central started to crawl their way back into the game, but the Yellowjackets stayed consistent and saw points from Besonen, Ferstl and Emily Dehler (Pierz, Minn./Pierz Healy) throughout the remainder of the quarter, leading to a 41-34 lead after the second.
 
UWS began the third with some momentum and boosted their lead to eight, but the Rams took advantage of Yellowjacket turnovers and fouls, bringing them within two at 47-45. Hause converted on another layup, but Rams' Nini Davenport hit back-to-back threes to end the third, giving North Central a two-point edge at 51-49.
 
Quarter number four led off with Caitlyn Ryan nailing a jumper after a Yellowjacket turnover. The Rams' lead got up to six, but the Yellowjackets continued to chip away. MyKenzie Leccia (Somerset, Wis./Somerset) completed the three-point-play after drawing a foul from Mia Mabang, but Leccia would get called for a foul and the Rams countered. Hause would also draw a foul and nail both, keeping UWS within three at 60-57.
 
After North Central saw multiple points from Kaitlyn VanderPloeg and Caitlyn Ryan, the Rams led by a score of 66-57. The Rams boosted their lead by nine points with under a minute of play remaining, and they wouldn't surrender. The Yellowjackets would have no choice but to foul, which propelled the Rams to a 70-59 victory and handing UWS its first conference loss of the season.
 
Besonen and Ferstl finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Ferstl also picked up eight rebounds, who was followed by Leccia with six boards of her own. For the Rams, Ryan and VanderPloeg each had 16, while Hola and Brester had 14 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Yellowjackets (8-8, 4-1 UMAC) return to Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium Friday to face off against Bethany Lutheran. The opening tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.