MARQUETTE – Grand Valley State used a big second quarter to break open a close game, then an even bigger fourth quarter to finish off the Northern Michigan University women 70-49 in college basketball action at the Berry Events Center on Thursday.

In between, the Wildcats mounted a furious comeback in the third period to get back in the game.

A pair of guards led NMU in scoring. Redshirt freshman Chloe Tompkins scored 17 points and shared team rebounding honors with seven, while junior Bre Gaspervich had 13 points to go with five rebounds.

Grand Valley was led by Taylor Parmley, who came off the bench to score 23 points as she hit all 8 of her shots from the field and 7 of 8 free throws.

Teammate Piper Tucker had a monster game on the boards, pulling down 15 rebounds to go with eight points.

Northern, which slipped to 9-13 overall and 8-8 in the GLIAC, fell behind quickly but got back to within 16-13 by the end of the first quarter.

But the Lakers (17-5, 12-4) rebuilt their lead back to 24-15 and took a 31-19 advantage into the break.

Then Tompkins took charge to begin the second half, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and a layup in a three-minute stretch early in the third quarter.

With an additional jumper made by freshman teammate Emily Schramek, NMU trailed just 35-29 with 5:47 left in the third.

Gaspervich hit a pair of triples and a layup in the final two minutes of the third to keep the Wildcats within 46-40.

Two free throws made by freshman Taylor Hodell 14 seconds into the final quarter got Northern within four points before the bottom fell out for the Wildcats.

GVSU went on a 14-3 run over the next five minutes to move ahead 60-45. It was powered by Parmley’s 5-for-5 performance at the free-throw line that included the end of a three-point play.

The Wildcats made just 32.7 percent of their shots (18 of 55), were outrebounded 32-24 and made nearly twice as many turnovers, 13-7, as the Lakers.

NMU returns to action at 11 a.m. Saturday against Ferris State, part of a home tripleheader to be followed by men’s basketball in the afternoon and hockey in the evening.

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