Northern Michigan University’s Addison Pytleski shoots a free throw during a GLIAC women’s basketball game played against Davenport at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — The women’s basketball team at Northern Michigan University mounted a furious rally in the fourth quarter that fell short as the nation’s No. 1 team in NCAA Division II, Grand Valley State, escaped with a 78-66 victory at Vandament Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Nationally ranked themselves at No. 12, the Wildcats twice fell behind by 20 points in the final period, the last time 65-45 with 6:46 left after a pair of free throws by the Lakers’ Lexi Plitzuweit.

That’s when NMU began a 16-2 run to close the gap to 67-61 with 2:05 remaining after a 3-pointer by Northern’s Addison Pytleski.

But the Wildcats wouldn’t be able to draw any closer as GVSU improved to a crisp 12-0 overall and 4-0 and a share of the lead in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

NMU fell a game back at 3-1 and is 9-2 overall. It won’t get easier for the Wildcats this week, as they travel to Houghton to play Michigan Tech at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The Huskies are tied with Northern at 3-1 in league, 9-3 overall.

On Saturday, Pytleski led Northern scorers with a career-high 18 points, making both her triple attempts and 6 of 8 free throws, also sharing team rebounding honors with six in just 22 minutes court time.

She scored half those points in the final quarter, including an and-one and a key 3 during the late surge, according to a game account from NMU Sports Information.

Sarah Newcomer and Jordyn Schmittdiel added 11 points apiece, Newcomer hitting a trio of treys and Schmittdiel one as Newcomer also had three assists and two blocked shots, while Schmittdiel grabbed six rebounds and had two assists.

Usual leading scorer Jacy Weisbrod seemed to draw a lot of attention from the Lakers’ defense as she finished with just four points, hitting 2 of 8 shots overall, including 0 of 3 on 3s.

MacKenzie Bisballe and Escanaba graduate Nicole Kamin led Grand Valley with 20 points each.

The near-capacity crowd had to be nervous as the Wildcats had trouble generating offense for much of the game, scoring just 11 points in the both the second and third quarters, before the late comeback produced 26 points in the final period.

Though Pytleski scored the game’s first points on a layup with 23 seconds elapsed, the Lakers quickly retook the lead, scoring the next seven points for a 7-2 advantage with 6:53 left in the opening quarter. GVSU opened up a seven-point lead, 15-8, before the home team closed the gap and trailed 21-18 entering the second.

A Newcomer triple quickly tied the game 21-21 just 45 seconds into that next period, and it was still tied 25-25 after Pytleski hit a pair of free throws with 7:49 left in the first half.

But that’s when Grand Valley went off to the races, outscoring Northern 14-4 the rest of the quarter to build a 39-29 halftime edge.

The Lakers’ lead remained in double digits throughout the third quarter, their biggest lead 58-40 with 1:02 left after a Bisballe traditional three-point play of a layup and free throw.

Also that same score entering the fourth, GVSU added a couple points to that before the Wildcats mounted their stirring comeback.

In that streak, Pytleski hit a pair of 3-point shots and finished off a three-point play with a layup and free throw, then she also made three other free throws, while Schmittdiel had a layup, Newcomer a 3 and CJ Romero 2 of 2 free throws.

Suddenly it was a six-point game with 2:05 to go, but the Lakers’ Avery Zeinstra answered with a triple and Plitzuweit a pair of free throws in the next 68 seconds to re-establish a 72-61 advantage for GVSU.

While Newcomer hit another triple and Schmittdiel a layup in the final minute, it wasn’t enough to get the victory.

Grand Valley 78, NMU 66

Saturday at Vandament Arena

Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)

GRAND VALLEY STATE — Kamin 6-5-20, Bisballe 9-2-20, Plitzuweit 3-5-12, Vanstee 3-2-8 Anderson 1-2-4, Zeinstra 4-0-10, Scanlon 1-2-4. Totals 27-18-78.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — Pytleski 5-6-18, Newcomer 4-0-11, Romero 2-2-7, Hill 2-2-6, Weisbrod 2-0-4, Schmittdiel 5-0-11, Whitehouse 2-0-5, Walder 1-0-2, Schroeder 1-0-2. Totals 24-10-66.

Score by quarters:

Grand Valley State 21 18 19 20 — 78

Northern Michigan 18 11 11 26 — 66

FG shooting: Grand Valley 27 of 62 (43.5 percent), NMU 24 of 66 (36.4 percent); 3-point shooting: Grand Valley 6 of 15 (40 percent), NMU 8 of 17 (47.1 percent); FT shooting: Grand Valley 18 of 20 (90 percent), NMU 10 of 12 (83.3 percent); Rebounding, Grand Valley 45 (Paige Vanstee 11), NMU 33 (Addison Pytleski and Jordyn Schmittdiel 6 each); Assists, Grand Valley 15 (Nicole Kamin and Molly Anderson 4 each), NMU 15 (Sarah Newcomer and CJ Romero 3 each); Steals, Grand Valley 9 (3 players with 2 each), NMU 5 (5 players with 1 each); Turnovers, Grand Valley 14, NMU 14.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the game. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.