MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The Northern Michigan University women's basketball team came back from 14-points down in the first half to take the lead with 6:37 left in the game but were unable to hold on as Grand Valley State picked up a 68-61 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Wildcats Thursday.

The loss drops the Wildcats to 7-6 overall with a 5-4 league record. The Lakers improved to 10-3 with a 7-2 GLIAC record.

NMU senior guard Alyssa Colla led three Wildcat players in double-digit scoring with a team-high 15 points. NMU senior center Courtney Lemon added 13 while senior guard Lauren Gruber added 11.

The Wildcats trailed 42-28 at the break after going 9-30 from the field (.300) in the first half including a 2-8 three-point stat (.250).

NMU mounted a comeback in the second half, outscoring GVSU 33-26 in the second half, sparked by 11 second-half points from Colla. The Wildcats trailed 50-39 with 13:10 left in the game, but went on a 9-0 run to close the gap to a single-possession when senior forward Abbey DeBruin scored seven-straight points, capped by a three-pointer with 9:22 left.

A three-pointer by Colla with 6:37 left in the game gave NMU its first lead of the contest 55-53 and kept the game within one possession until the final few minutes of action when GVSU was able to stretch the lead out.

"We had to make some adjustments on the defensive end, which worked early on (in the second half) and we were able to execute better on the offensive end and got the ball where we wanted to get it," said NMU head coach Troy Mattson. "We played the way we should play in the second half but we need to play hard for the 40 minutes, not 20. It isn't a 20 minute game and we didn't play hard for 40 and got ourselves in trouble."

NMU out rebounded Grand Valley 37-31 including a 12-6 advantage on the offensive boards which they converted to 14 second-chance points. DeBruin led NMU with seven rebounds while junior Nea Makela and Lemon added five each.

The Wildcats finished the game shooting 36.2-percent (21-58) and going 8-22 from three-point range (.364).

Northern Michigan returns to action on Saturday when they host Ferris State in a 1 p.m. matchup at the Berry Events Center.