MARQUETTE, Mich. - Winners of five straight, the Northern Michigan women's basketball team now has a rivalry matchup next, heading to Houghton to take on Michigan Tech on Thursday, February 20, at 5:30 p.m.
Northern (12-4, 18-6) defended their home court last weekend against Lake Superior State (67-44) and Ferris State (75-48). The Wildcats will now battle against the Michigan Tech Huskies (7-9, 10-14), who are coming off a 75-62 win versus Lake Superior State.
The game can be watched on Fox-UP, with Mark Evans and Dave Ellis on the call. You can also watch the action on FloHoops or listen on 100.3 The Point, with Casey Ford on the call.
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Follow @NMU_WBBall and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the matches.
Thursday, February 20 - vs. Michigan Tech at 5:30 p.m.
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Hear from Casey Thousand
"It's just going up there, taking care of business, doing what we do, and keeping it the Northern way."
About the 'Cats
At 12-4 in conference, the Wildcats hold second place in the GLIAC rankings, behind leader Grand Valley (15-1). Northern has clinched a postseason berth and will now look to clinch home court for the quarterfinals.
Last weekend, the Wildcats took wins against LSSU and FSU for regular season sweeps of each team, defeating Lake Superior State 67-44 and Ferris State 75-48.
Alyssa Hill led the Wildcats over the weekend, averaging 16.5 points per game including a season-high 19-point, nine-rebound performance against the Bulldogs.
The Green and Gold are getting in done in several facets of the game, ranking inside the top-50 in the nation in several categories: 18th in defensive rebounds per game (29.4), 30th in fewest fouls (14.5), 33rd in assist/turnover ratio (1.04), 36th in fewest opponent points averaging 57.4 per game, and 46th in turnovers per game (14.2).
After receiving her second GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honor last week,
Jacy Weisbrod is 9th in the conference and leads the 'Cats averaging 13.4 points per game. Weisbrod has been the most lethal threat across the conference from beyond the arc, as her 2.75 made threes per game puts her 14th in the nation.
Sarah Newcomer (8.9) is second on the team in scoring. She ranks 13th in the conference with 2.6 assists per game while
Mackenzie Holzwart ranks 12th with 2.7 and
CJ Romero ranks 14th with 2.6.
Alyssa Nimz is third on the team in scoring with 8.5 points per game with ten games in double figures. She is also 10th in the conference averaging 6.7 rebounds.
NMU's defense has been a key to this season's success, as its 57.4 points per game allowed is second fewest to Grand Valley State. The Wildcats also allow opponents to shoot only 26.9% from the three, proving to be the best in the GLIAC.
A Look at Michigan Tech
The Huskies are 10-14 overall and 7-9 in GLIAC play, breaking their four-game losing streak by defeating Lake Superior State (75-62) last Saturday. Though the Huskies hold a 2-7 away record, they have stood their ground at home at 7-6.
Tech is averaging 66.8 points per game while allowing 67.2. The Huskies are shooting 42.5% from the field, 31.7% from the three, and 75.2% at the charity stripe.
Senior guard Isabella Lenz leads the way for the Huskies, averaging 14.3 points per game. She has scored in double figures in all but three games this season. Lenz averages 1.8 triples per game, and has made multiple in each of her last three. Freshman Kendall Standfest (11.9) and Janie Tormanen (11.1) are also averaging in double figures. Standfest is averaging 17.7 points and 11.3 rebounds over her last three including a season-best 22-point performance against LSSU where she shot 9-9 from the floor.
Sam Clayton is in her 7th season as head coach of the Huskies. Clayton was also a standout player for Tech, holding an all-time record of 103-22 record with 1,434 career points.
Northern is 54-56 all-time vs. the Huskies. After ending a 14-game losing streak last season in Houghton, the Wildcats are looking to establish a winning streak of their own after a 68-64 win earlier this season in Marquette.
