Lady ‘Cats edged by Warriors

Courtesy of NMU Athletics

MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan University women’s basketball team was edged 63-59 by the visiting Wayne State University Warriors on Saturday (Jan. 19) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup. NMU falls to 9-7 overall and 6-6 in the GLIAC, and the Warriors improve to 10-5 and 8-4 in conference play.

The ‘Cats went on a 5-0 run in the last three minutes of play with Wayne State having a six point lead. The run was concluded on a shot from beyond the arc by sophomore center Courtney Lemon to put Northern within one point (54-53). With 1:35 to go in the game, NMU was down by three, and cut the deficit to one three different times.

With 41 seconds left on the clock, Northern came within one point for the final time on a shot from in the paint by sophomore guard Alyssa Colla. In the final 30 seconds of play, the Warriors went 4-for-4 from the free throw line to extend its lead to 63-58. Colla was sent to the charity strip to attempt her own set of free throws in the final 10 seconds, making the back end of the set to conclude the game.

NMU held a 25-22 at the halftime, leading the first half for the last five minutes of play. There were three lead changes in the half (10 for the game) and a tied score four different times (9 for the game).

The Wildcats had three players in double figures. Colla and sophomore guard Lauren Gruber each had 15, while freshman forward Nea Makela tallied 10. Sophomore forward Abbey DeBruin finished the afternoon with nine points. On the boards, Gruber, sophomore guard Sarah Miller and DeBruin each had five.

Northern shot 39.6 percent (19-for-48) from the floor and were 68 percent (17-for-25) from the free throw line.

Juanita Conhran led all scorers with 20 points on seven field goals and was 6-for-14 at the free throw line. Talisha Bridges contributed 12, Kayla Bridges and Kristen Long combined for 15 points.

WSU shot 41.8 percent (23-for-55) on the afternoon, and 57.7 percent (17-for-25) from the charity stripe.

The ‘Cats will travel to Lake Superior State on Thursday (Jan. 24) and then will head to the Lower Peninsula and take on Northwood University on Saturday (Jan. 26).