MARQUETTE, Mich. - Points were hard to come by particularly in the first half on Saturday afternoon for the Davenport women's basketball team at Northern Michigan. Both teams could not find offensive rhythm in the first half as the halftime score was 15-15. It was the lowest scoring combined half this season in a game for the Panthers against their opponent. Northern Michigan scored 13 points in the first quarter and led by five points. In the second quarter, the Panthers clamped down allowing just two points and scoring seven points themselves for the halftime deadlock.
The Wildcats were able to flip the switch in the second half as they scored 17 points in the third quarter and 25 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 57-46 victory. The Panthers are now 7-12 overall (1-8 GLIAC) while the Wildcats are now 11-7 (6-3 GLIAC). The biggest lead for the Panthers was just two points after their first basket of the game. The Wildcats led by as many as 12 points at the 7:25 mark of the fourth quarter. The Wildcats led for 29:39 compared to 3:34 for Davenport. Both teams took decent care of the ball with 16 turnovers by DU compared to 13 for NMU.
Makaylee Kuhn led all scorers with 22 points and scored 18 of those in the second half while playing every second in the final 20 minutes.
Lillee Gustafson scored 12 second-half points and finished with 16 total points on 6-of-15 shooting including 4-of-6 at the line. Gustafson also had six rebounds and played 34-plus minutes.
Jaci Walker added nine points and two steals off the bench in 24-plus minutes.
Makenna Bryant scored eight points and grabbed three boards. She also led the team with three assists. Both teams finished exactly 19-of-52 from the floor. The free throw line was a different story as the Wildcats went 16-of-22 compared to just 4-of-6 for the Panthers.
