Marquette, Mich. -- Resiliency is a quality the Grand Valley State women's basketball team has taken on as of late. Despite holding a 14-point halftime lead, the Lakers found themselves trailing Northern Michigan with 4:39 left in regulation. But they battled back, scoring 12 of the game's final 15 points to escape the Berry Events Center with a 68-61 victory.
 
A three-point bucket by Alyssa Colla gave the Wildcats, who trailed by as many as 16 points, a 58-56 advantage, their first since scoring the evening's opening basket.
 
GVSU wasted no time responding. Junior guard Brionna Barnett, who finished with 14 points, drained a jumper to tie things up. A missed NMU layup turned into a Jammie Botruff triple at the other end. The Wildcats cut the deficit to one, but had no answer for another Barnett jumper and a trifecta from sophomore guard Taylor Lutz.
 
Sophomore forward Piper Tucker's pair of free throws in the closing 22 seconds made it a three-possession game, putting the finishing touches on GVSU's 10^th victory of the season.
 
Kayla Dawson poured in a game-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, along with a perfect 3-of-3 mark from beyond the arc. The sophomore forward has scored 14-plus points in each of the club's last four contests.
 
In addition to piling up points, Barnett dished out a career-high seven assists, the most by a Laker this season. Tucker and Botruff, playing just 45 minutes away from her hometown, tallied nine points apiece. Freshman center Korynn Hincka had a standout performance as well. The Posen, Michigan native notched five blocks and collected nine rebounds.
 
Three-point shooting played a major hand in GVSU's third road victory of its 2014-15 campaign. The Lakers shot 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from distance, sinking five threes in each half. Overall, they shot 44.4 percent from the field.
 
The team's revitalized defense was on display once again as well. GVSU built its 42-28 halftime edge by holding the Wildcats to nine field goals in the first half. Northern Michigan shot just 30 percent from the field for the opening 20 minutes. By game's end, it had shot just 36.2 percent (21-of-58). The Lakers swatted eight shots, matching their season high.
 
GVSU is now 10-3 overall and 7-2 in GLIAC play. Thursday (Jan. 15) night's victory sets up a showdown for first place in the GLIAC North Division standings at No. 23 Michigan Tech on Saturday (Jan. 17). The Huskies currently hold the division lead with an 8-1 mark in league contests.
 
Tip off at the SDC Gymnasium in Houghton, Michigan is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET.