MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball cut a 15-point lead to four in the final quarter but fell short against Northern Michigan, losing 61-54 to the Wildcats in action in Marquette, Mich.

MSUM fell to 2-2 on the year while Northern Michigan  improved to 3-1.

Freshman guard Natalie Steichen paced the Dragons with 17 points and five assists. Junior forward Megan Hintz had eight points and 12 rebounds while sophomore guard Kiley Borowicz had nine points, four steals and five rebounds.

MSUM shot just 32.3 percent (20-of-62) for the game compared to 46.9 percent (23-of-49) for the Wildcats. MSUM was outrebounded 36-28.
NMU led 51-36 with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter before MSUM went on an 11-0 run – keyed by two threes from Borowicz and one from redshirt freshman forward Peyton Boom – to cut the lead to 51-47 with 4:32 left.  The Dragons got no closer than that, however as the Wildcats pushed the lead back to nine and went on to take a 7-point win.  

The Dragons led 3-0 after junior forward Madi Green hit a three-pointer 47 seconds into the game, but a 7-0 run erased that lead and MSUM never led again. Northern Michigan led 34-22 at halftime despite 10 first-half points from Steichen.

Senior guard Jacky Volkert had three assists for MSUM.

MSUM is back on the road next weekend at the Metro State Thanksgiving Classic in Denver. The Dragons will face Metro State (Colo.) at 6 p.m. Central time on Friday. The Dragons will face Colorado Christian on Saturday.