BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The NCC women's basketball team battled back from a 31-19 halftime deficit to tie the game at 38 with nine minutes remaining, but Ocean County College rallied down the stretch and held on for a 52-44 victory in a Region XIX matchup on Saturday.

Ashley Slater scored 16 points, Ciara Mbonu added 12 and Krista Ruhle 10 for the Spartans.

Mbonu's layup with 42 seconds remaining brought the Spartans to within four at 48-44, but Ocean's Heather Neuman converted four consecutive free throws to seal the victory.

NCC, now 8-10 overall and 7-5 in Region XIX, travels to Bergen County College on Tuesday for a 5:00pm matchup.

Neuman paced Ocean with 16 points.