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DETROIT -- The Warriors are in first place all by themselves.

The Wayne State University women's basketball team won its second straight contest at home Saturday, defeating Northern Michigan University, 75-72, at the Matthaei Center.

WSU, ranked No. 21 in the most recent coaches poll, improved to 14-2 overall and 11-1 in the GLIAC. Wayne State's win, coupled with a Michigan Tech loss at Saginaw Valley, puts the Warriors in sole possession of first place in the GLIAC North Division and overall in the conference.

Northern Michigan dropped to 11-5 and 8-4 in league play with the loss.

Wayne State jumped out to a strong start in Saturday's game, scoring the first five points and leading 11-2 just three minutes into the game. Senior Imari Redfield (Detroit, Mich. / Country Day) scored six of WSU's first 11 points. WSU continued its torrid offensive pace to start the game, as junior Ondrea Hughes (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Loy Norrix) made it 13-4 just after the first media timeout. Redfield made it 16-4 after connecting on a three-pointer from the corner.

The Wildcats scored 18 of the next 24 points, however, to knot the game 22-22 with 8:02 left in the first half. A triple by NMU's Alyson Matkovich tied the game. Wayne State junior Jackie Jones (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) followed with a triple from the corner and junior Kayla Bridges (Canton, Mich. / Canton) added a lay-up as the Warriors regained the lead, 27-22, with 6:46 remaining before the break.

The Warriors held the lead for the majority of the rest of the first half until Northern Michigan guard Alyssa Colla sank a lay-up just before the buzzer to tie the game, 35-35, at the break. Redfield led the Warriors with nine points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first half. Both teams shot 48 percent from the field during the opening 20 minutes.

Redfield scored the first six points for the Warriors in the second half, but Northern Michigan gained its largest lead of the game to that point, 48-42, just four minutes into the half after Colla connected on a jumper. Hughes countered with a lay-up, but Colla sank a three-pointer as the Wildcats went up, 51-44. Jones added a jumper for the Warriors, however Colla sank another triple as NMU had its largest lead of the game, 54-46, with 12:41 left.

Undeterred, Wayne State scored the next eight points to tie the game, 54-54. Bridges scored four points in that stretch and senior Lena Thomas' (Bloomfield Twp., Mich. / Bloomfield Hills Andover) jumper from the free throw line knotted the score with 10:13 on the clock.

After an NMU three-pointer, Bridges converted two free throws to pull WSU to within one point, 57-56. After Colla sank 1-of-2 free throws to give NMU a two-point lead, 58-56, Bridges tied the game, 58-58, on a jumper of her own. Junior Ashley Wilson (Portage, Mich. / Northern) gave the Warriors the lead, 60-58, after a lay-up with the shot clock winding down went down.

Bridges converted on a conventional three-point play on the next WSU offensive possession to give the Warriors a five-point lead, 63-58, with 6:25 remaining. It marked the beginning of a stretch in which Bridges scored nine straight points for WSU, leading the Warriors to a 69-65 advantage with 3:19 left on the clock.

Following the final media timeout, junior Shareta Brown (Pontiac, Mich. / Grand Blanc) sank two free throw attempts as Wayne State went up six points, 71-65, with 2:35 left in the game.

Northern Michigan made another late push, as a lay-up by Colla with 1:21 on the clock, brought Northern Michigan to within one point, 73-72. Both teams missed on consecutive offensive possessions and after Jones missed on the front end of a 1-and-1, NMU had the ball with a chance to win the game and 18 seconds on the clock.

The Wildcats missed on a two-point shot with six seconds left and WSU gained possession on a team rebound. Thomas was fouled with five seconds left and made both free throws to give WSU a three-point edge, 75-72. Northern Michigan had one last look at the rim as Colla had a decent three-point look at the buzzer, but the shot fell off the iron.

Bridges scored 19 of her career-high 27 points in the second half for Wayne State. She was 10-of-16 from the field and sank 7-of-8 free throw attempts in 25 minutes. She doubled her previous career-high of 13 points.

Redfield was the other Warrior in double figures, scoring 15 points in just 17 minutes. Brown had a game-high 12 rebounds and added three steals and seven points. Jones dished out a game-best five assists. Both Jones and Hughes added seven points for Wayne State, which was 15-for-19 from the free throw line.

WSU had a slim rebounding advantage, 33-32. NMU was 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) on three-point attempts, while WSU was just 2-for-12 (16.7 percent). Wayne State shot 48.5 percent from the field. Northern Michgan had a 47.5-percent shooting clip and made 6-of-9 free throws.

Colla led the Wildcats with 23 points, with Annie Rubendunst adding 19 points.

Wayne State returns to the court Thursday, hosting Ferris State University for a 5:30 p.m. contest at the Matthaei.