Northern Michigan University's Taya Stevenson, left, works around a defender during a game played earlier this season at the Berry Evens Center in Marquette. (Photo courtesy NMU)

DETROIT — While the Northern Michigan University women’s basketball team might’ve had trouble shooting the ball Thursday night, they cleaned up theirs and the opposition’s messes quite well.

The Wildcats almost outrebounded their point total, hanging on for a 56-52 overtime victory at Wayne State in a return to GLIAC action.

NMU, which improved to 9-5 overall and 4-1 in the league, nearly matched its point total with 53 rebounds, 22 coming on the offensive glass.

Taya Stevenson and Makaylee Kuhn paced Northern scorers with 10 points apiece, while Kuhn matched the team high with eight rebounds and Stevenson had seven.

Teammate Mackenzie Holzwart also had eight rebounds as a half-dozen Wildcats had at least five caroms.

Sarah Newcomer scored nine points, Stevenson had a team-high three steals, while Holzwart led NMU in assists with six.

Wayne State’s Rebecca Fugate led all scorers with 21 points, while teammate Maxine Moore was the game’s top rebounder with 11 to go with her 12 points.

Fugate played 44 minutes and Holzwart put in 43 minutes in what is normally a 40-minute college game, but had five extra minutes added due to the OT.

Northern shot a so-so 31% from the field (24 of 78) and just 3 of 10 (30%) on free throws and 5 of 22 on 3-pointers (23%).

Wayne State (8-4, 1-3) had 15 fewer rebounds — 38 — but shot 39% from the field (21 of 54), though only 1 of 8 on 3s (13%).

Though the host Warriors jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opening two minutes, the Wildcats scored the next 13 points over 4 1/2 minutes to take a solid 13-6 advantage. Stevenson had seven points and Kuhn four in that stretch.

NMU took a 17-10 lead into the second quarter, stretching its edge to a dozen points twice, the final time 26-14 with 4:40 left in the first half on a layup by Newcomer.

The Warriors answered with a 14-2 flourish to end the half and tie the score 28-28 at intermission.

After the teams traded the lead several times to open the second half, Northern used an 8-2 streak to open a 41-34 lead with 3:03 left in the third following an Alyssa Nimz 3-pointer.

Wayne State whittled the deficit to two, 43-41, to end the period, then took a 45-43 lead with the first four points of the final quarter.

The Wildcats never got the lead back in regulation, though that probably had as much to do with the defensive struggle the teams were locked in as they combined to score just 10 points in the fourth.

Kuhn made a jump shot with 2:57 left in regulation to knot the score 47-47, but she likely couldn’t have predicted that the score would stay stuck there until the end of regulation.

The play-by-play recap showed eight field goals and two free throws were attempted by both teams together in the final two minutes and change without any going in.

Overtime must’ve reinvigorated the Wildcats, though, as Ana Rhude made a free throw, then a layup about 35 seconds apart to put the visitors ahead 50-47.

NMU wouldn’t relinquish the lead, getting its bulge to as many as five points, 55-50, with 1:41 left after Kayla Tierney pumped in a triple.

The Wildcats finish this weeklong three-game road trip downstate with another GLIAC game at Saginaw Valley State in University Center at 1 p.m. today.

Northern then takes a week off to ready for a home encounter against Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech at 3 p.m. next Saturday.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.