WESTVILLE, Ind. — Heading into Thursday night’s game at Purdue Northwest, the Northern Michigan University women’s basketball team was coming off a much-needed victory over Wayne State.

A win on the road over the Pride would help the Wildcats start to emerge from the pack in the competitive GLIAC North Division.

And NMU got that win and did so in dominating fashion. The Wildcats held a 21-5 lead after the first quarter and kept rolling from there on their way to a 56-34 triumph.

Senior Jessica Schultz led Northern (7-7, 4-2 GLIAC) with 20 points, while fellow senior Erin Honkala had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

NMU was especially strong in the paint as it outscored the Pride 34-12 around the basket and heavily outrebounded the hosts 49-20.

The Wildcats were not just strong offensively, but also on defense as they held PNW (4-10, 3-3) to just 19.2% shooting from the field and a horrendous 9.5% from beyond the arc.

Schultz got Northern going in the first quarter as she scored eight of its first 10 points. The ‘Cats then ended the quarter on an 8-0 run. Schultz opened the second quarter with four points and NMU held a 25-5 advantage just a minute in. The Wildcats later took a commanding 35-13 lead into the half.

A jumper by Emily Mueller helped Northern get its lead up to 25 with 4:50 left in the third quarter and the Wildcats led 46-26 at the end of the frame.

NMU travels to Kenosha, Wisconsin to face Wisconsin-Parkside at 2 p.m. EST Saturday.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Writer Ryan Stieg. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.