MARQUETTE, Mich. - It is time for the NCAA Tournament for the Northern Michigan women's basketball team, as they will head to Grand Valley to take on the Hillsdale Chargers in the opening round.
The Wildcats (22-8) fell in the GLIAC semifinals to Ferris State and earned the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region. The Chargers (21-9) enter as the No. 6 seed after losing in the G-MAC Championship to Ashland. The teams will play on Friday, March 14 at noon ET.
The winner will advance to play the winner of the No. 2 Ashland vs. No. 7 Ferris State matchup on Saturday, March 15 at 5 p.m. The regional championship will take place on Monday, March 17 at 7 p.m. with the winner heading to the Elite 8.
The game can be watched on FloHoops or listened to live on 100.3 The Point, with Casey Ford on the call.
Follow the Action
Follow @NMU_WBBall and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the matches.
Friday, March 14 - vs. Hillsdale (at Grand Valley) at 12 p.m.
Hear from Casey Thousand
"Hillsdale can score from their guards and we have to slow down their shooters. Our defense has to be good and we have to be in attack mode on the offensive side. We have one more opportunity to play and that's the best part right now."
About the 'Cats
At 22-8, the Wildcats most recently fell 73-66 in the GLIAC Semifinals to Ferris State. Tied 63-63 with 90 seconds to play, the Bulldogs scored 10 straight to knock off the Wildcats. The Wildcats were led by freshman
Sydney Whitehouse who poured in a game-high 18 points.
Head coach
Casey Thousand has the Wildcats as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region of the NCAA Tournament. In three seasons under Thousand, NMU has improved each and every year and holds a 59-31 (.656) record.
This is the second straight season the Wildcats have made the big dance. Last season, NMU knocked off Kentucky Wesleyan 69-56 in the opening round.
Jacy Weisbrod tied a program record connecting on nine threes in the game. NMU then fell to Grand Valley 72-44 in the Round of 32.
The Green and Gold have been one of the best rebounding teams in the Midwest, with its 5.6 rebounding margin ranking 8th in the region and 29.0 defensive rebounds per game ranking 5th. Both are top-50 marks nationally.
Named to the All-GLIAC First Team, junior
Jacy Weisbrod has been one of the most lethal three-point threats in the country. She is knocking them in at a rate of 2.88 per game, ranking 5th in the nation and tops in the Midwest. She is also 16th across Division II in three-point percentage at 40.3. She leads the 'Cats averaging 13.7 points per game.
Abi Fraaza (9.3),
Sarah Newcomer (9.0) and
Alyssa Nimz (8.5) have also played a key role in NMU's offense. Fraaza was named the GLIAC Sixth Woman of the Year and is averaging 14.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and shooting 65.0% from the field over her last five. Newcomer was named to the All-GLIAC Second Team. Freshman
Sydney Whitehouse has turned it on as of late, averaging 11.8 points over the last five and has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games.
A Look At Hillsdale
The Chargers are 21-9 overall and went 16-4 in the G-MAC. They lost to Ashland in the conference championship game 69-57.
Averaging 68.5 points per game and allowing just 60.8, the offense is led by senior guards Lauren McDonald (14.6 points per game) and Caitlin Splain (13.4). McDonald also leads the team in rebounding (7.1) and assists (3.6). Both McDonald and Splain earned All-G-MAC First Team honors.
The teams last met on December 17, 2016, a 57-39 victory for the Wildcats in Marquette.
