ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Northern Michigan women's basketball team struggled shooting on Saturday, November 25 as they fell at St. Cloud State 66-56. 

There was a large disparity in shooting efficiency on the afternoon, as NMU struggled to a 19-68 (27.9%) clip while SCSU was 24-45 (53.3%) and 7-17 (41.2%) from deep. Northern was  just 6-27 (22.2%) from three. 

NMU dominated the offensive glass 16-2, leading to 23 more shot attempts than the Huskies. St. Cloud controlled the defensive glass 35-24, and also were disruptive in the paint, recording eight blocks on the afternoon, led by Ashley Sawicki with five. 

Makaylee Kuhn led the 'Cats with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, her third of the season. Kuhn had 14 of her 16 in the second half. She also contributed four steals on the defensive end. Ana Rhude added 12 points, 10 of those coming in the first half. SCSU's Jasmine Litt was 4-5 from three for a game-high 20 points. 

It's the second straight loss for the Wildcats after starting the season 4-0. St. Cloud State improved to 3-0 with the victory. 


How it Happened
Kayla Tierney opened the scoring, connecting on a triple in the game's first possession. Leading 5-2, SCSU went on a 11-0 run, with three consecutive triples from Jasmine Litt, to go ahead 13-5. Northern shot just 3-14 (21.4%), while SCSU was 6-10 (60.0%) in the opening quarter. The 'Cats trailed 18-11 after 10 minutes. 

The Huskies posted an early 5-0 run in the second quarter to grab a double-digit lead at 25-13. Sarah Newcomer closed it back to single digits with a triple. The 'Cats went on a 7-0 run later in the quarter, kickstarted by an Ana Rhude and-one, to close the gap to five. Rhude would reach double figures on a layup in the final minute of the half, but Northern trailed 33-25 at the break. 

Makaylee Kuhn hit back-to-back buckets to start the second half, closing the game to four, but the next seven and 18 of the next 21 points went to SCSU, widening the gap to 51-32 in favor of the home squad. NMU ended the third on a 5-1 run but still faced a sizeable deficit at 52-37. 

In the fourth, Northern would extend the run with the first four point to pull within 11. The Huskies clapped back, not surrendering their  double-digit lead until less than a minute left in the game when Jacy Weisbord hit a three, but it was too little too late, as SCSU hit free throws down the stretch to emerge victorious. 


Up Next
NMU will finish off the non-conference roadtrip with a battle at Minnesota Duluth on Sunday, November 26, at 3 p.m. ET.