North Central wins first-ever UMAC women's basketball tournament championship

North Central wins first-ever UMAC women's basketball tournament championship

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ST. PAUL, Minn.---Following a wild semifinal round of upsets in the 2021-22 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's basketball tournament, No. 3 North Central University managed to hold on for a 52-47 win over No. 4 University of Minnesota Morris for the program's first-ever tournament title Sunday.

In a low-scoring affair, the Rams had just a one-point lead in the first quarter before outscoring the Cougars 7-3 in the second to take a five-point lead into the half that ended up being the difference. The Rams led by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter and never let the Cougars get closer than three points to hold on for the victory.

Naomi Hagstrom was selected as the tournament MVP after boosting the Rams to a 24-4 overall record with a 25-point performance on 9-of-18 shooting. The senior ended the three-game tournament stretch with 62 points. 

The Rams also earned the UMAC automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament. The women's basketball selection show is set for 1:30 p.m. Monday on NCAA.com. 
 
Championship Game Highlights  | Box Score | 
  • The Rams utilized strong defense to win Sunday holding the Cougars to just 25.4 percent from the field. They also scored 16 points off of 16 turnovers with 11 steals. 
  • Hagstrom accounted for nearly half of the Rams' scoring and tallied 16 of the team's 23 first-half points. Aubrey Robinson was the only other Ram to score in double figures with 11, while Emily DiGiorgio led on the glass with a game-high 10 rebounds.
  • Lexus Eagle Chasing led the Cougars in scoring with 13 points. Malory Anderson came off the bench for 10 and had a team-high six rebounds. The Cougars finished the season 13-14 overall. 

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Feb. 23 - Quarterfinals
No. 1 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 8 Northland, 105-53 | Box Score |
No. 2 Northwestern def. No. 7 Crown, 81-59 | Box Score |
No. 3 North Central def. No. 6 Martin Luther, 68-55 | Box Score |
No. 4 Minnesota Morris def. No. 5 Wisconsin-Superior, 64-47 | Box Score |

Friday, Feb. 25 - Semifinals
No. 4 Minnesota Morris def. No. 1 Bethany Lutheran, 70-60 | Box Score |
No. 3 North Central def. No. 2 Northwestern, 79-48 | Box Score |

Sunday, Feb. 27 - Championship
 No. 3 North Central def. No. 4 Minnesota Morris, 52-47 | Box Score |

Tournament Championship Page