It was another challenging outing at Vandament Arena for the Wildcats, who struggled to find a consistent offensive rhythm, particularly in the second half.

Since an 8-0 start to this season, NMU has gone 3-5 since. That includes back-to-back home losses this week after a 61-60 setback to Wayne State on Thursday, which followed the Wildcats’ home 60-56 win over Roosevelt last Monday.

It left Northern in fourth place at 5-3 in the GLIAC and 11-5 overall. SVSU is a modest 3-5 and 9-7.

“I think in the second half, I think we had five turnovers to start. That’s what went wrong,” Northern head coach Casey Thousand said about Saturday’s contest. “… You have turnovers and then you have missed shots. I think … in the third (quarter) not getting offensive boards and then you have turnovers on top of it, that’s hard. It’s rough.”

Northern Michigan University’s Alyssa Nimz, right, drives to the basket against a Saginaw Valley State defender during the fourth quarter of their GLIAC women’s basketball game played at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Saturday. (Journal photo by Caden Sierra)

From the opening tip, the game was defined by streaky shooting and defensive intensity. NMU’s Sarah Newcomer got things started with a bucket early, but turnovers and a shot clock violation hindered the Wildcats’ efforts. The Cardinals’ Megan McCalla closed out the quarter with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, though Northern still had a 15-9 lead.

In the second quarter, the visitors used hot 3-point shooting quickly to first close the gap, then take control. SVSU needed barely a minute and a half of the quarter to catch their hosts, with Beckham Hockley, Ava Locklear and McCalla each hitting a triple to pull ahead 18-17.

The lead see-sawed for a few minutes after that, with Northern taking its final lead, 24-23, following a Mackenzie Holzwart layup with 5:45 left. But the Cards hit another trio of treys after that, including Aleshia Jones capping the half with a corner 3 at the buzzer, leaving the Wildcats headed into the locker room trailing 38-31.

“They were shooting lights out, and everybody was hitting,” Thousand said about SVSU’s 29-point second quarter. “We didn’t make an adjustment, I think, defensively enough.”

Compounding the Wildcats’ problems were mighty struggles scoring in the third quarter, when they had just four points. Neither team scored for nearly the first three minutes of the second half until McCalla broke the drought with a layup. Negaunee High School product Alyssa Hill responded for the Wildcats, but turnovers and missed opportunities continued to plague them. The Cardinals extended their lead with timely buckets from McCalla and Lydia Meredith and entered the final quarter up 49-35.

The fourth quarter saw the Wildcats attempt a comeback, with Sydney Whitehouse and

Holzwart scoring baskets to cut into the deficit. However, McCalla and Meredith steadied the Cardinals, who capitalized on NMU’s mistakes and controlled the clock down the stretch, never letting their lead drop below a dozen points.

Newcomer was the only Northern player to score in double figures with 10 points, including a pair of 3s. Holzwart scored nine points, while leading scorer Jacy Weisbrod came off the bench to score seven. Alyssa Nimz led NMU rebounders with nine as she scored five points.

McCalla was easily the game’s top scorer with 25 points, which included making 4 of 7 triples and 5 of 6 free throws. Jones added 15 points, while Locklear had seven to go with game-high 10 rebounds.

The Wildcats shot 36% (20 of 55) from the field but struggled from beyond the arc, converting just 23% (5 of 22). The Cardinals were far more efficient, shooting 39% (22 of 57) overall but 44% (11 of 25) from deep, one 3-pointer shy of their season high. NMU also committed 16 turnovers compared to the Cardinals’ 12.

Northern now takes to the road for a two-game trip later this week, traveling to Big Rapids to take on second-place Ferris State at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and then back toward home in Sault Ste. Marie to face ninth-place Lake Superior State at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The following week, the Wildcats host GLIAC leader and national No. 1 Grand Valley State on Thursday, Jan. 30, then last-place Davenport two days after that at Vandament Arena.

Caden Sierra can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 551. His email address is csierra@nmu.edu.