MARQUETTE, Mich. -  After a weekend that went the 'Cats way, the Northern Michigan University women's basketball team will be hosting a GLIAC Quarterfinal matchup against the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals. Tip-off is set for Wednesday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. from the Berry Events Center. 

The Wildcats come into the tournament as the fourth seed with a 15-12 overall and 10-8 in conference play. The Cardinals claimed the fifth seed with a 15-13 overall record and a 10-8 record in conference play. The Wildcats hold the tiebreaker over the Cardinals, by defeating Parkside twice,  to get the homecourt advantage


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Wednesday, March 1 - vs. Saginaw Valley State at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets  |  Watch on FloHoops  |  Audio  |  Live Stats  |  Game Notes


Last Time Out
Northern traveled to Houghton, Michigan, to square off against the Huskies for the last regular season matchup. The Huskies remained undefeated on their home court, outlasting the Wildcats by a score of 80-68. 

Makaylee Kuhn led the Wildcats, scoring 23 on 11-18 (61.1%) shooting from the field and 1-3 (33.3%) from deep while pulling down three rebounds and dishing out a team-high three assists. Isabella Lenz led the Huskies with 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Alex Rondorf recorded a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. 


Cat Attack
The Wildcats are 15-12 (10-8 GLIAC) this season and finished fourth in the GLIAC standings. NMU averages 60.4 PPG, the second-lowest average in the conference. What NMU lacks in offense is made up for in defense, as the 57.9 PPG allowed is the second-best mark in the conference. Opponents shoot 39.5% against the Green and Gold defense, good for fourth in the conference. The Wildcats have a 5.3 rebounding margin and averages 37.8 rebounds per game, both second-best in the conference. Northern also holds opponents to 10.7 assists/game, the third-best mark in the GLIAC. 

Makaylee Kuhn leads NMU with an average of 16.4 PPG and 7.3 RPG. Mackenzie Holzwart averages 9.4 PPG and 5.0 RPG. 


Scouting Saginaw Valley
The Cardinals come into the matchup on a two-game skid and are 1-3 in the previous four. SVSU is led by Kaitlyn Zarycki who averages 21.3 PPG, good for second-best across the GLIAC landscape, and has a 51.3 FG% that's good for fourth in the GLIAC. Tori DePerry averages 17.0 PPG and 8.1 RPG, good for fifth and fourth respectively. 


Previous Matchup vs. The Cardinals
NMU fell to the Cardinals by a slim 46-43 margin at the Berry Events Center on February 2. 

Mackenzie Holzwart led the team with 10 points and three assists, while also accumulating four rebounds. Following behind her was Makaylee Kuhn with eight points. She also cleaned the glass for 10 rebounds, all on the defensive end. Tori DePerry led the Cardinals with a dominant 21-point, 14-rebound double-double. 

Turnovers plagued the Wildcats, as they fumbled it over to SVSU 17 times while the Cardinals committed just nine mishaps. SVSU also had 17 points off NMU turnovers. NMU shot 19-55 (34.5%) from the floor while SVSU was 15-52 (28.8%). SVSU got to the line much more often than the 'Cats, converting on 13-17 (76.5%) while NMU saw just a 1-3 (33.3%) clip. 


GLIAC Tournament 
Wednesday, March 1 | Quarterfinals
Campus sites, higher seed is host

Game 1    No. 1 Grand Valley State vs. No. 8 Purdue Northwest, 6 p.m.    
Game 2    No. 4 Northern Michigan vs. No. 5 Saginaw Valley State, 7:30 p.m.
Game 3    No. 3 Parkside vs. No. 6 Ferris State, 5:30 p.m.     
Game 4    No. 2 Michigan Tech vs. No. 7 Wayne State, 5:30 p.m.   

Saturday, March 4 | Semifinals
Hosted by TBD

Game 5    Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2     
Game 6    Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4      

Sunday, March 5 | Championship 
Hosted by TBD

Game 7    Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6