GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Northern Michigan women's basketball team scored 23 straight points in the first and second quarters to get an early lead on Davenport and the Wildcats never looked back, defeating the Panthers 73-47 on Saturday in Grand Rapids. 

The Wildcat offense shot 43.3% from the floor and hit 10 triples. Makaylee Kuhn led the way with 23 points on 9-13 (69.2%) shooting, as she is now a mere 19 points shy of the all-time scoring mark at Northern (1,699 points). She added eight rebounds and five assists. 

Kuhn's eight rebounds led a dominant performance on the boards for the Green and Gold, as they pulled down 47 rebounds to just 25 from Davenport, including a 15-4 edge on the offensive glass. Mackenzie Holzwart, Ana Rhude, and Alyssa Nimz each added seven while Jacy Weisbrod contributed another six. Northern also led 19-9 in assists and 19-2 in second chance points on the night. 

The win marks the fifth straight for the Wildcats, as they have improved to 9-3 overall and remained atop the GLIAC standings with a 3-0 record. 

During the five-game winning streak, the 'Cats have scored 65+ points, hit at least eight threes, and have passed out 13+ assists. They have a 23.2 point margin in that span. The 9-3 start over the first dozen games marks the best start for the Green and Gold since the 2018-19 season (10-2). 


How it Happened
The home squad had a quick start on Thursday evening, notching six quick paint points in the opening couple of minutes, leading the Wildcats 6-1. NMU then got it going in eye-popping fashion in large part due to the shot of Sarah Newcomer, as she hit a trio of triples as Northern recorded the next 20 points for a 21-6 lead after 10 minutes.  

The Panthers were empty on their last 11 shots of the first while the Wildcats dominated the glass early with 10 more rebounds than the Panthers, including three more on offense, for a 8-0 edge in second chance points. 

Jacy Weisbrod hit an early three in the second frame to conclude the extensive run at 23-0 before the Panthers responded from downtown. The Green and Gold's impressive defense continued having its way early in this one as they held Davenport without a point for over eight minutes during that stretch. 

Northern wasn't quite done with the large spurts in the first half, as they rattled off a 12-1 second-quarter run closing in on halftime, as Kuhn recorded eight straight and Alyssa Nimz added back-to-back buckets. The Wildcats carried a 38-17 lead into the locker room. Kuhn led the way through 20 minutes with 15 points and six rebounds, while the squad held DU to just a 7-27 (25.9%) shooting clip. 

Newcomer hit her fourth triple in the third frame followed by a Kuhn triple while Northern had Davenport doubled up, 50-25, five minutes into the third quarter. Ana Rhude crossed double figures with a kiss off the glass as NMU maintained a 54-31 advantage heading to the fourth. 

Kuhn would hit her second three, getting her up to 23 points, early in the fourth quarter. Reide Osterman and CJ Romero each entered the score sheet with a triple in the quarter along with Weisbrod later hitting NMU's tenth three of the night to carry the Wildcats to the finish line, winning 73-47.


Up Next
The Wildcats will face a big test on Saturday, January 6 at 1 p.m. as they visit the nation's top team in the Grand Valley State Lakers, who is 11-1 and coming off of a 74-30 victory over Michigan Tech.