Lady Wildcats win big game vs. Northwood

Courtesy of NMU Athletics

MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan University women’s basketball team defeated Northwood University, 71-56 on Saturday (Feb. 23) in the final home game of the season.

The Wildcats are now 13-12 overall and 10-11 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. The Timberwolves fall to 11-15 overall and 9-12 in the conference.

Northern dominated the entire second of play, leading by as many as 15. The Wildcats led by a mere eight with three minutes to play after two made free throw shots by Northwood’s Lauren Robak. On NMU’s following possession, sophomore forward Brooke Coenen sank a shot from two point range to extend the Wildcat lead back to the double digits.

Sophomore guard Alyssa Colla made her own shot from in the paint with 2:12 left on the clock. In the remaining minutes, the Wildcats shot 7-for-8 from the charity stripe to clinch its second straight game.

NMU held the 32-27 advantage at halftime, after taking the lead from the Timberwolves three times in the opening half. The Wildcats took the lead for the final time on a layup by sophomore forward Maria Almquist to make it 17-16 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first.

Colla had a game-high 21 points on six field goals and was 9-for-10 from the charity stripe. Sophomore forward Abbey DeBruin added 12 points, and sophomore guard Sarah Miller tied her career-high with 10. Colla contributed in rebounds with six, and sophomore guard Lauren Gruber added five.

Northern shot 53 percent (23-for-44) from the floor and were 82.1 percent (23-for-28) at the free throw line. NMU out-rebounded the Timberwolves 32-26.

Jordyn Nurenberg was the lone Northwood player to finish in the double digits with 13 points off the bench. Kaitlin Susan tallied nine and Gabrielle Rivette had seven. Susan led with six rebounds, five on defense.

The Timberwolves shot 19-for-50 (38.0 percent) on the afternoon and were 14-for-20 (70.0 percent) from the free throw line.

The Wildcats will travel to Michigan Tech University next Saturday (March 2) to close out the regular season. MTU defeated Lake Superior State University, 57-38 on Saturday (Feb. 23).