MARQUETTE, Mich. - The William Jewell women's basketball team suffered a 61-41 season opening defeat at the hands of Northern Michigan on Saturday afternoon on the road. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams got off to a bit of a slow start offensively, with just 14 combined points through the first 10 minutes. NMU closed the opening period on a 10-5 run to hold a 19-10 advantage.
• The Wildcats built their lead to 19 with under seven minutes to play in the opening half. The two teams combined for a three-plus minute scoring drought before Elizabeth Ernsting finally connected on a triple to make it a 31-15 game. 
• Jewell opened the third quarter with a 8-3 run capped by a steal from Bailey Russell, ending in a layup from Rachel Senn. Northern Michigan followed with a 14-6 run of their own to take their largest lead of the day at 52-31. 
• A layup from Katelyn Ostronic cut the lead down to 16 late in the fourth quarter but the Wildcats finished out the game with two more buckets to bring the score to the final. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• In her collegiate debut, Senn scored 10 points in 16 minutes of action to lead Jewell. 
• Kate Hillyer had four rebounds while Katie Knock grabbed three assists. 

UP NEXT
Jewell wraps up the GLVC-GLIAC Crossover on Saturday with a matchup against Michigan Tech.