Lady ‘Cats B-Ball defeat Northwood
Courtesy of NMU Athletics
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan University women’s basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak Saturday (Feb. 1) by picking up a 74-62 win over Northwood at the Berry Events Center in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match up.
The Wildcats improved to 12-6 overall and 9-6 in conference play with the win, while the Timberwolves fell to 10-8 and 8-6 in the GLIAC.
NMU had five players score in double-digits led by sophomore forward Nea Makela with 16, senior forward Annie Rubendunst had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guards Alyssa Colla and Lauren Gruber and junior center Courtney Lemon added 10 each.
“The girls did an incredible job switching and containing their three guards who are very good players,” said NMU head coach Troy Mattson. “We got to their three-point shooters when we needed to. We didn’t shoot the ball well but we found a way to win. The biggest thing about this game was some people stepped up off the bench.”
The game was tied at 31-31 at the half as Makela led all scorers at the break with 14 points. NMU took a 22-14 lead when Lemon laid the ball with 8:20 left in the half to take their largest lead of the half.
The Wildcats led until Northwood’s Sarah Susan sank a pair of free throws to close NMU’s lead to 31-29 with 39-seconds left in the first. A layup by Sarah Tierweiler with two seconds to go tied the score as the half came to a close.
In the second half, the two teams tied six times before NMU took the lead for good. The Wildcats jumped out to a 10-point lead (57-47) on a pair of free throws by Colla with 6:25 left in the game.
The Timberwolves got within three points after going on a 9-3 run with three minutes remaining but a pair of free throws by freshman guard Bre Gaspervich again gave the Wildcats a 10 point lead with a minute left on the clock.
The Wildcats were 23-62 (37.1 percent) from the floor and shot 21-29 (72.4 percent) at the free throw line. NMU out-rebounded Northwood, 51-40.
The Timberwolves were led by Lauren Robak with 16 points, while Gabrielle Rivette added 15 while Emily Kutch had 12.
The Wildcats return to action with a trip to U.P. and conference rival Michigan Tech at 5:30 p.m. Monday (Feb. 3) at the Student Development Center.