NMU Women’s Basketball Comes up Short in Loss to Ferris State

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - The Wildcats women’s basketball team took on the Ferris State Bulldogs at the Berry Events Center on Friday where they fell short 60-54 in a GLIAC contest. Makaylee Kuhn scored 20 points, Elena Alaix added 19 points, and Ana Rhude stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Kenzie Bowers paced the Bulldogs with 18. Both teams shot sub-40% from the floor, but NMU was just 1-13 (7.7%) from three while FSU went 7-22 (31.8%). The Wildcats committed 20 turnovers to just 8 from the Bulldogs.

Ferris State took the lead within the first minute on a basket in the paint. The Bulldogs found another pair of baskets to jump ahead 6-0 before the Wildcats finally got their first scratch 3:30 in from Makaylee Kuhn. The Bulldogs then went on another run, this time a 7-0 stretch to go ahead 13-2 and put NMU in an early hole. Before quarter’s close, Makaylee Kuhn connected on two more hoops and Ana Rhude closed the quarter with an and-one to keep the deficit at single digits after 10 minutes, 18-9.

A 7-1 turnover margin plagued NMU in the opening frame. The second quarter started with the Bulldogs regaining a double-digit lead over the ‘Cats, with a score of 20-9. Elena Alaix put her name out there with back-to-back jumpers in the middle of the quarter and Ana Rhude scored six points in the closing minutes to help NMU slowly chip away at the deficit as the 2nd quarter closed.

NMU outscored FSU 14-11 in the second to make it 29-23 at intermission. In the opening half, all of NMU’s scoring came from Makaylee Kuhn (10), Ana Rhude (9), and Elena Alaix (4). The ‘Cats also dominated the glass, holding a 26-9 edge. Northern was empty from three, going 0-5 while Ferris State connected on 4-14 attempts.

The second half started off with free throws from the Bulldogs, where the immediate score read 31-23. Kuhn, Alaix, and Rhude continued to do the scoring for the Wildcats, where they kept the game within reach. Alaix went on a tear, scoring 9 points in the back half of the 3rd quarter and Kuhn ended the frame earning two points in the paint. The deficit heading to the 4th was only at five, 45-40. The Bulldogs scored the first 8 points of the final quarter to jump back ahead 53-40.

NMU answered with 8 of their own to cut it to 53-48 with under two minutes to play. Unfortunately for NMU, Ferris stood tall down the stretch and finished out the 60-54 win over the Wildcats.

The Wildcats are back in the Berry Events Center this Sunday, December 11, when they will take on Lake Superior State at 3 p.m.