When the Northwestern women’s lacrosse team slumped to the sidelines down 9-0 to No. 10 Penn State at halftime Friday, NU coach Kelly Amonte Hiller knew exactly why her team had been outscored 15-2 in the first halves of the past two games.

“I said, ‘This is isn’t a tactical problem, it’s an energy problem and it’s an intensity problem,'” Amonte Hiller said. “It’s a matter of us coming out with the intensity great teams come out with.”

That wasn’t a problem when the Wildcats beat Davidson on Monday, 14-4. NU got off to a quick start for the first time since April 11, when it took on No. 16 Stanford.

NU (7-6, 2-4 ALC) led Stanford 4-3 heading into halftime, though they eventually fell 9-5. But in their next two contests — losses to Virginia Tech and Penn State — it was a poor start that doomed the Cats.

Monday, the Cats took on Davidson (1-13) in a virtual must-win game. NU would have finished in last place in the ALC with one more conference loss.

The Cats jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first half. NU never gave Davidson a chance and won the match 14-4.

“They weren’t one of the best teams that we’ve played,” freshman Laura Glassanos said. “But we were able to capitalize off every mistake that they made.”

Glassanos and fellow freshman Lindsay Munday led the Cats offensively, each scoring four goals and netting two assists.

But against Penn State, the Cats couldn’t find their offensive game until the second half, when they outscored the Lady Lions (7-6, 4-0) by a 7-3 margin. But it was too little, and way too late, in the 12-7 defeat.

The game against Penn State started off slowly — scoreless for the first nine minutes — until a free position goal broke the deadlock and put the Lady Lions on the board.

In the first half, the Cats’ offensive possessions were few, far between and unproductive. While Penn State set up plays and found open attackers, NU turned the ball over and only had a handful of shots on goal.

Adding to their problems, the Cats were flagged for numerous fouls and three yellow cards. Sophomore Erin Flynn received a card when her stick check tagged a Penn State player in the back of the head, but the other two — on sophomore Kate Darmody and freshman Laura Glassanos — were more questionable, Amonte Hiller said.

“I was not pleased with the refereeing today, ” Amonte Hiller said. “It was very inconsistent.”

NU gave Penn State 13 free position attempts in the game. Sophomore goalie Ashley Gersuk made several big saves that held the Lady Lions to converting only three, keeping the game from becoming a blowout.