HOUGHTON, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University women's basketball team traveled to Houghton, Michigan, to square off against the Huskies for their last regular season matchup. The Huskies remained undefeated on their home court this season, outlasting the Wildcats by a score of 80-68. The Wildcats fall to 15-12 overall and 10-8 in the GLIAC, and the Huskies improved to 23-5 overall and 15-3 in conference play. 

The 'Cats shot 29-64 (45.3%) from the floor and 6-21 (28.6%) from beyond the arch, along with going 4-8 from the free throw line, while pulling down 26 rebounds. The Huskies shot 31-52 (59.6%) from the field and 8-17 (47.1%) from deep while going 10-13 (76.9%) from the charity stripe and pulling down 33 rebounds. 

Makaylee Kuhn led the Wildcats, scoring 23 on 11-18 (61.1%) shooting from the field and 1-3 (33.3%) from deep while pulling down three rebounds and dishing out a team-high three assists. Isabella Lenz led the Huskies with 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and Alex Randorf recorded a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. 

With Parkside beating Saginaw Valley, the Wildcats will host the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals for a GLIAC Quarterfinal matchup at the Berry Events Center on March 1, with tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

How It Happened
Makaylee Kuhn opened the scoring for the game after the 'Cats won the opening tip-off, giving the Green and Gold the early 2-0 lead. Kuhn would respond after the Huskies scored on the other end with another bucket, giving her four points early. 

Holzwart started strong herself, earning a block on the defensive end and taking it all the way to score on the other end. The next possession, Vivianne Jende set a screen for Holzwart and she found the basket again for her own back-to-back buckets. 

The Huskies would go on a 7-0 run to end the first quarter and held onto a 23-14 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. Makaylee Kuhn led all scorers with six points and both teams shot well, with the 'Cats shooting 7/14 (50%) from the field, and the Huskies shooting 10/14 (71.4%) from the field and 3/5 (60%) from deep. 

The Huskies started the 2nd quarter with six unanswered points that capped off a 13-0 run to go up 15 points early. The Huskies couldn't miss early to start the quarter, going 5/5 from the floor and 2/2 from deep. 

The 'Cats put up 15 in the second, but the Huskies had 20 of their own and pulled ahead by a score of 43-29 going into the recess. The 'Cats were shooting 12/29 (41.4%) from the field to the Huskies 18/26 (69.2%). The 'Cats were 1/6 (16.7%) from deep, and the Huskies shot 6/9 (66.7%) from beyond the arch. The 'Cats held an edge on the Huskies with four offensive rebounds to two and amassed six steals to Tech's one. Makaylee Kuhn led the Wildcats with eight points in the first half, and Alex Rondorf paced all athletes with 12 on a perfect 5/5 from the field and 2/2 from deep. 

The third frame started out with back-and-forth action with the 'Cats scoring eight to the Huskies' seven halfway through the quarter. Both teams cooled off from their hot shooting, with the 'Cats going 3-10 (30%) from the field and 2-7 (28.6%) from deep, with the Huskies going 3-9 (33.3%) from the field and 1-5 (20.0%) from deep. The 'Cats held the edge in rebounds with seven to Tech's six. 

The teams would end the third quarter exchanging three-pointers, with Abi Fraaza draining a shot as time expired. The 'Cats found themselves down 13 going into the final frame after outscoring the Huskies 17-16. 

The 'Cats started the fourth quarter with perfect shooting, going 4-4 from the field, capped off by Taya Stevenson hitting a three-point try to bring the 'Cats deficit to eight points. 

Makaylee Kuhn eclipsed the 20-point mark after she sunk a fade away mid-range from the key followed by a three-pointer to bring the 'Cats within nine points with just over a minute remaining, giving Kuhn 21 points on the evening. 

The teams continued to score back and forth and the Wildcats clawed their way back to a single-digit deficit, but couldn't quite find their way back into the game, dropping the contest by a score of 80-68.

Postgame Notes

• Makaylee Kuhn led all scorers with 23 points, playing the full 40 minutes of game time. Mackenzie Holzwart also played the full 40 minutes, putting up 13 points along with four steals, two assists, and two rebounds.
• Abi Fraaza had 10 points with four rebounds and one assist. 
• The 'Cats edged the Huskies in offensive boards (7 to 4), had eight steals to Tech's four, and committed six turnovers to MTU's 12.
• Five of Michigan Tech's seven scorers recorded double-digit point totals, and the Huskies led for 35:37 of the game (89.0%).

Up Next
The Wildcats will host SVSU for a GLIAC Quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. from the Berry Events Center.