HILLSDALE, Mich. – Junior guard Alyssa Colla scored 24 points to lead the Northern Michigan women's basketball team to a 73-67 win over Hillsdale Monday night in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference action at the Jesse Phillips Arena. 

It was the fourth win in a row for the Wildcats who improved to 7-1 overall with a 4-0 league record. The loss dropped Hillsdale to 2-6 overall with a 1-3 GLIAC mark.

Colla led four Northern Michigan players in double-digit scoring. Senior forward Annie Rubendunst scored 14 followed by junior guard Lauren Gruber with 13 and sophomore forward Nea Makela with 11. Makela led the Wildcats on the boards, pulling down seven rebounds. 

"It was a great road trip for us," said NMU head coach Troy Mattson "The girls really played well and we look forward to the Christmas holiday."

A layup by Colla with 13:09 left in the first half gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the first half, 13-4. Hillsdale battled back and even led at points of the first half, but NMU was able to take a 32-29 lead at halftime. 

The Wildcats shot 41.4% (12-29) from the floor in the first half and went 5-6 from the charity stripe.

Hillsdale was able to tie the game four times through the second half and took the lead once, but were unable to keep the Wildcats down. NMU stretched its lead to 10 when Colla hit a pair of free throws with 1:14 left in the game. 

Northern Michigan was 16-20 from the free throw line in the second half, including hitting their last eight straight, and shot 55% from the floor (11-20). The Wildcats outrebounded Hillsdale 40-31. Hillsdale outscored NMU 32-28 in the paint.

The Wildcats return to action January 2 when they host Tiffin at the Berry Events Center.