Slow Start Dooms PNW Women’s Basketball in Loss to Northern Michigan
MARQUETTE, Mich. – Sophomore Shae Rhonehouse (Fremont, Ind./Fremont) had a team-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds as the Purdue University Northwest women’s basketball team could not overcome a slow start and dropped a 63-55 road contest to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opponent Northern Michigan University Thursday evening at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich.
Freshman Lanie Allen (East Noble, Ind./East Noble) came off the bench to score nine points and recorded four rebounds, while senior Jessica Kiser (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) added eight points and six boards for the Pride in the setback.
NMU started the game on a 12-2 run in the first four minutes, but PNW would roar back and go on a 7-2 run thanks to an Allen three-pointer, but the Wildcats did not go away taking momentum into the second quarter as they went on a 5-2 run to go ahead 19-11 to end the first period.
Northern Michigan made back-to-back three’s to start the second quarter to go ahead 25-11, but then Allen and junior Mikayla Kikendall (Morristown, Ind./Morristown) responded for the Pride with consecutive three’s sparking a 12-2 run for PNW cutting the NMU lead to four, 27-23, with 5:18 left in the second quarter. However, the Wildcats scored seven unanswered points to make it an 11-point lead at the 3:21 mark of the first half.
Kiser hit a three with 1:55 left to get the Pride within eight. Northern Michigan went into the halftime break with a 36-27 lead.
Bayley Goodman (Fowler, Ind./Benton Central) pulled the Pride within six with a triple with 6:17 left in the third quarter, but NMU scored eight points in a row in three minutes to take the 14-point advantage.
The Wildcats took a 49-40 lead into the fourth quarter after they hit a jump shot with nine seconds to go in the third.
PNW would not go away as the Pride scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and played stellar defense holding the Wildcats to zero points in the first 4:48 of the frame. Rhonehouse’s jump shot made it a four-point game, 53-49, with three minutes left.
Northern Michigan would go on a 7-2 run to pull away from the Pride. Rhonehouse connected on a lay-up with 34 seconds to go, but a pair of free-throws by NMU’s Elizabeth Lutz sealed the deal for the Wildcats in their 63-55 victory.
Purdue Northwest (3-15, 2-11 GLIAC) returns to action Saturday, Feb. 3 as the Pride travel to Houghton, Mich. to take on No. 17 Michigan Tech University in a GLIAC match-up. Tip-off is scheduled for at 12 p.m. CT start.
