By Journal Sports Staff

BIG RAPIDS – Taylor Hodell scored 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double to lead Northern Michigan University to a 79-64 victory at Ferris State on Saturday afternoon.

Hodell, a 6-foot-4 freshman center, also blocked two shots while making all six of her free-throw attempts as the Wildcats improved to 5-10 overall and 4-5 in the GLIAC.

Junior teammate Bre Gaspervich scored a team-high 16 points while making five steals and dishing out five assists. The guard also didn’t have a turnover.

Freshman Emily Schramek added 13 points, hitting 3 of 5 3-pointers, while redshirt freshman guard Darby Youngstrom scored 12 points to go with six rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Leading 69-62 with about four minutes to go, Northern outscored the Bulldogs 10-2 down the stretch to put the game away.

Ferris (3-12, 3-6) led for most of the first quarter, though when Schramek hit a 3-pointer with 1:47 remaining NMU went ahead 16-15. But Ferris held a 26-18 lead at the end of the period and went ahead by as many as nine points early in the second.

But NMU finished the quarter on a 16-3 run to go up 36-28 at halftime. Gaspervich tied the score on a layup with 3:28 left, while Hodell hit a pair of free throws about 30 seconds later to give the Wildcats a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.

Northern built up its lead during the third quarter, going ahead 57-47 entering the fourth, though Ferris got as close as six points, 66-60, with 4:46 left.

Ferris’ Alexis Huntey led all scorers with 24 points as she also accumulated nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.

NMU returns home to the Berry Events Center at 6 p.m. Thursday to take on Saginaw Valley State. Fans can get free tickets at Stucko’s leading up to the game as part of Northern’s new game-day host program.

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