This story was written by NMU Sports Information
ALLENDALE, Mich.---The Northern Michigan University women's basketball team finished the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge with a 2-0 record after dispatching Quincy, 59-46, Sunday afternoon at the GVSU Fieldhouse.
The Wildcats seized the lead early in the first quarter with a 10-0 run and never looked back. Northern Michigan held a 22-12 lead at the end of the opening frame in large part due to that early run.
After Cha Cha Williams sank the game's first shot with 9:06 on the clock, the Wildcats took over, with Jessica Schultzaccounting four of the points by going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. The Falcons wouldn't draw closer than seven points, and Chloe Tompkins drained a three-point shot with 31 seconds left in the first period to put Northern Michigan up by 10.
Quincy outscored the Wildcats, 16-11, in the second quarter, but couldn't draw even.
The Falcons made it a five-point game by ending the half on a 7-2 run.
Tompkins was quick to extend Northern Michigan's advantage in the third quarter, hitting a three at the 9:39 mark. But both teams struggled to generate offense, with the Wildcats holding a slight 10-9 advantage. Despite that, Northern Michigan entered the final frame with a solid six-point lead, at 43-37.
The Wildcats sealed their second win of the season by nearly doubling the Falcons up in the fourth quarter. Bre Gaspervich sank two threes, including one with 2:28 left to play that put Northern Michigan ahead by a game-high 20 points, at 59-39.
Tompkins (16), Gaspervich (15) and Schultz (14) all scored in the double digits. As a team, the Wildcats shot 45 percent from beyond the three-point arc. They also shot 66.7 percent from the charity stripe, bolstered by Schultz's 8-for-10 effort.
Northern Michigan scored 10 points off of turnovers and 20 in the paint. All but one of the Wildcat starters had at least six rebounds, and three of the five posted two steals.
Northern Michigan opens a three-game home stand next weekend, taking on Concordia-St. Paul (Nov. 18, 6 p.m.) and Minnesota-Crookston (Nov. 19, 1 p.m.).
Friday's game will be broadcvast live on WUPZ-FM(94.9 The Bay) and Saturday's game will be live on WUPT-FM (100.3 The Point).
STORY FROM SATURDAY NIGHT'S GAME FOLLOWS:
The Northern Michigan University women's basketball team opened the regular season with a 59-56 win over Truman State at the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge Saturday evening at the GVSU Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs opened a 7-4 lead in the first quarter, but Darby Youngstrom sank a three pointer at 9:47 in the second quarter to even the score. Truman State seized a 13-10 lead, but Bre Gaspervich tied the game with a three pointer at 5:38. The teams traded points until the Bulldogs pulled away to take a 24-20 lead into halftime.
Youngstrom's triple at 8:10 in the third quarter pulled the Wildcats within one point, at 24-23. Later, Northern Michigan tied the game, at 30-30, when Tess Weatherlyhit a triple at 5:30.
The Wildcats pulled ahead with a 6-3 run, highlighted by an Emily Schramek triple with 3:54 remaining in the quarter. Northern Michigan took a 48-36 lead into the final frame after a Gaspervich jumper with two seconds remaining.
The Wildcats opened the fourth quarter with a Youngstrom layup at 9:21 to extend their lead to 50-36. The Bulldogs rallied to pull within two points, at 58-56, with six seconds remaining, but Gaspervich sank a free throw to ice the game.
Truman State is one of the stronger teams in the GLVC, having reached the 20-win plateau three of the past four seasons.
Youngstrom (15) and Erin Honkala (13) were the top point producers. Youngstrom and Weatherly tied for the team lead with eight rebounds.
Honkala collected three steals while Gaspervich posted five assists.
The Wildcats shot 34.9 percent from the floor and 23.1 percent from beyond the three point arc. They recorded 16 points off of turnovers and five off of offensive rebounds.
