MARQUETTE, Mich. - After a 30-30 tie heading out of halftime, the Northern Michigan women's basketball team started the second half strong and never looked back, defeating Purdue Northwest 73-62 on Saturday afternoon in the Berry. 

The difference makers for the Wildcats were senior Makaylee Kuhn and sophomore Jacy Weisbrod. Kuhn led the way with 25 points, 20 of them coming in the second half. Weisbrod added 15 points with three more triples, as she's now connected from deep in every game this season. CJ Romero led the team in assists with five overall and Abi Fraaza pulled down a team-high seven boards off the bench. 

Northern continued to be right at the top of the country in taking care of the ball. Committing just eight turnovers on the afternoon, the Wildcats reduced its average to 11.2/game, the second best mark in Division II. The Green and Gold added 14 team assists, resulting in a 1.75 assist/turnover ratio. 

With the win, the 'Cats now sit at 15-7 overall and 9-4 in the conference, firmly in third place.  


How it Happened 
Purdue Northwest opened up the scoring with consecutive layups from U.P. native Mercedes Simmons. NMU responded with a 9-0 run with four starters scoring to jump ahead 9-4. The 'Cats got what they wanted down low early on, as seven of its first eight buckets were in the paint. 

Despite a 18-10 first quarter advantage, the Pride responded right back in the second, outscoring NMU 20-12 for a 30-30 deadlock at intermission. The Pride started the second similar to the first, scoring the first five points to take the lead. Three-pointers from Weisbrod and Romero in the back end of the half pulled NMU back into it.

Six straight points out of halftime seemed to be all Northern needed to create some separation. Weisbrod didn't hold back and sank her second three pointer of the game, pushing NMU ahead by seven points and Kuhn would score 10 points in the frame to build a double-digit advantage, 55-45, heading to the third.

Scoring was quiet early on in the fourth with the first three minutes seeing no points from either team. Kuhn broke the silence with a layup as she would go on for her second straight 10 point quarter.

With the early run out of halftime, the Green and Gold never looked back for its ninth conference victory. 


Up Next 
The 'Cats will hit the road to face off against UP rival, the Michigan Tech Huskies, on Saturday, Feb. 17th at 1 p.m.