Much like yesterday,  the first quarter saw NMU in charge. From the 8:40 mark on, the Wildcats held the lead in the opening quarter. A 5-0 run, consisting of layups from Makaylee Kuhn and Vivianne Jende and a free throw from Kuhn, pushed the NMU lead to 13-7.

Four consecutive free throws for the Pride cut into the Wildcat lead, but a Kuhn layup made the score 15-11 at the end of the first.

PNW built a lead midway through the second as they found their three-point stroke. The slim advantage for the Pride did not hold as an NMU freshman came up in a big way. Kayla Tierney hit a dagger three for the Wildcats with five seconds left in the quarter. The shot sent both teams to the locker room with NMU up 32-31.  

The third was a close one for both teams. The largest lead of the quarter came for PNW as a Savaya Brockington three gave the Pride a three-point advantage. 

The Wildcats did not let PNW hold the lead for long, and went into the final quarter with a one-point lead thanks to a Jende layup.

A 6-0 NMU  run opened up the fourth quarter of action and set the tone for the rest of the contest. A staggering 14 points in the quarter came from Wildcat free throws, including the final six points of the 65-55 victory. 

Kuhn led the NMU team with a career-high 39 points. The sophomore impressed on the free throw line making 16-of-19 foul shots. She also lead the team in rebounding with seven boards.

Elena Alaix and Jende scored the second-most points of any WIldcat players with eight points each. Jende was second in the rebounding column with a total of four.

The NMU team took home the advantage over the Pride in several key statistical categories.

The Wildcats outrebounded PNW by a margin of 27-22. Ball security was important to NMU as they committed three fewer turnovers than the visiting team.

The Wildcats will find out their seeding and opponent in the GLIAC Tournament this evening. The tournament is set to begin Tuesday and NMU will have home advantage to begin post-season play.

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The Wildcats of Northern Michigan University women's basketball earned a 73-61 win over Purdue Northwest on Saturday afternoon in the first of their two final Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season games. 
 

The first quarter titled towards NMU. After falling behind 3-2, an Elena Alaix three-point shot and a Samantha Potter layup put the Wildcats on top. They then added to their lead with a Makaylee Kuhn three and an Ana Rhude jumper.

PNW charged back and tied the game 18-18 with 28 seconds left in the first. A Kuhn basket took NMU up two into the second half.

The Pride used the third to go up 30-23 after a strong push before the half. The Wildcats answered back with an 11-3 run that began with a Rhude free throw and ended with two Kuhn free throws.  

At the end of the third, the Wildcats were up three and looking to close the game out in the final quarter.

With 8:29 left in the game, Andrea Perez started an 11-0 NMU run with a made three-point jumper. Four Wildcats scored in the run as the team ended the day with a 73-61 victory. 

Kuhn's 34 points for NMU were a game-high and just four away from her career-high. She also led the team in rebounding with her 9 boards putting her one shy of a double-double.

Alaix was next in the scoring column for the Wildcats with 12 points. She and Potter also grabbed seven rebounds each.

As a team, NMU shot 50-percent from the field and 46.2-percent from three. The Wildcats also won the rebounding battle 29-25 over the Pride.