NMU Holds On To Beat Bulldog Women

Postgame Audio Report
(MP3 File)

Marquette, Mich. - The Northern Michigan Wildcats fought back from a double-digit first half deficit and held on to beat the Ferris State women's basketball team by a 73-69 count in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play on Saturday (Feb. 13) at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick start in the first half before the Wildcats battled back and took a narrow 29-28 halftime advantage.  NMU's Holly Cole connected on four three-pointers in the opening stanza for Northern Michigan.

NMU increased its lead to 11 points on a three-pointer from Cole with 5:11 to play, but the Bulldogs battled back and cut the lead all the way down to one point with 1:14 remaining on a jumper from sophomore guard Tricia Principe.

However, the Wildcats made eight free throws in the final 50 seconds to secure the victory.

Junior guard Becci Houdek paced FSU with a game-high 19 points on eight-of-11 shooting.  She was joined in double-digits by Principe with 15 points. Sophomore guard Kelsey DeNoyelles chipped in with nine points while junior forward Amy Joostberns finished with eight points for Ferris State.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats were led by Steffani Stoeger with 17 points and Cole chipped in with 15 points while Mariah Dunham netted 13 points.

FSU shot 48.2% (27-56) from the floor and sank seven-of-17 (41.2%) three-point tries along with eight-of-11 (72.7%) makes at the free throw line.

The Wildcats made 24-of-54 (44.4%) field goals and hit 13-of-34 (38.2%) three-pointers to go with a 12-of-13 (92.3%) showing at the stripe.

Ferris was outrebounded 34-27 for the contest as the Wildcats grabbed 11 offensive rebounds. 

FSU had only seven turnovers and forced 12 NMU miscues for the game.  Ferris also finished with 13 assists, eight steals and a blocked shot. NMU netted 17 assists, five blocks and three steals for the contest.

With the win, the Wildcats increased their record to 17-6 overall and 14-4 in the GLIAC while FSU fell to 6-17 overall and 5-13 in conference play.

The Bulldogs are currently tied with Wayne State for ninth place overall in the conference standings with four regular-season contests remaining and both teams trail eighth-place Northwood by two games after Saturday's play.  The top eight teams at the end of the season advance to the GLIAC Tournament.

Ferris State will be back on the road again next week as the Bulldogs visit Saginaw Valley State on Thursday (Feb. 18) for a 6 p.m. (EST) league game followed by another trip across the bridge to face Lake Superior State next Saturday (Feb. 20) at 1 p.m. (EST).