HOUGHTON, Mich. - After a back-and-forth first half that saw the Northern Michigan women's basketball team holding a slim 31-30 advantage at intermission, the Wildcats dominated the second half, outscoring the Huskies 39-15 en route to a statement 70-45 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Ana Rhude had a career-performance for the Wildcats, scoring 16 points on a perfect 8-8 shooting display. Without a miss in eight attempts, she tied the program's single-game record for most field goals without a miss (Krista Pray vs. Carthage College - 8 of 8 in 1983, Lisa Jamula vs. Northeastern Illinois - 8 of 8 in 1989). Rhude scored 10 of her points in a less than nine minute stretch over the final two quarters.
Rhude had it going right from the opening tip for the road 'Cats. Two offensive rebounds in the opening two minutes led to five quick points to help set the tone. She would go on to garner five offensive rebounds and a game-high nine boards in total.
It wasn't just Rhude that found rhythm offensively, as
Makaylee Kuhn matched her total with 16 points. After struggling in the first half, the program's all-time leading scorer notched 10 of her 16 in the third frame to help build separation and eventually collect her first career win over the Huskies.
Mackenzie Holzwart added another 14 off the bench on a near-perfect 7-8 shooting performance.
Jacy Weisbrod also reached double figures with a dozen.
The opening 20 minutes could not have been played much tighter, with the second quarter seeing six ties, eight lead changes, and no more than a two-point lead for either side. Katelyn Meister was a force in the first half for Tech, shooting 6-8 for 12 points, with all coming in the paint. Halftime adjustments proved pivotal for
Casey Thousand and company, as they held Meister to just two second-half points on 1-9 shooting.
Northern's largest first half run was just 4-0, but that took a 180 degree turn in the second. NMU had separate runs of 7-0, 4-0, 10-0, 8-0, and 8-0. Northern had the touch offensively, going 16-26 (61.5%) after halftime. Over the game, the Wildcats shot 27-54 (50.0%) from the floor. Northern was also a perfect 13-13 from the charity stripe. NMU dominated the glass 42-25, points in the paint 44-28, and nearly had all of the second chance points, 15-2.
As good as the 'Cats were offensively in the second, they were even better defensively. MTU was just 6-30 (20.0%) over the final 20 minutes of play. After Tech started 4-4 from three in Marquette three weeks ago, it was a flip-flop performance in Houghton, as they started 0-6 and went just 2-16 (12.5%) over the course of the game.
Rivalry aside, the win has multiple implications for the Wildcats. Northern improved to 10-4 in the conference, as they remain in third place in the conference and control its own destiny for a home playoff game. The Huskies fell to 8-6 in the GLIAC. The victory also snaps a 14-game skid against Tech that dated back to 2017. In addition, it is the first win for the Wildcats in Houghton since 2010.
Up Next
Northern will wrap-up its final road trip of the regular season next week, with trips to Saginaw Valley State on Thursday and Wayne State on Saturday on tap.
