MARQUETTE, Mich. - Under blizzard conditions in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the Northern Michigan women's basketball team provided a spark inside Vandament Arena, defeating Saginaw Valley State 81-60 in the GLIAC Quarterfinals.

Jacy Weisbrod powered the Green and Gold offense, hitting seven triples for the second consecutive game on her way to a game-high 27 points, the third time she's hit that mark this season. She shot an extremely efficient 7-9 (77.8%) from beyond the arc and was the driving force behind a 12-21 (57.1%) team effort from three, the best they've shot this season. 

Abi Fraaza added 13 and seven boards off the bench while Alyssa Nimz had a dozen points and Sydney Whitehouse chipped in another 10. Saginaw Valley was led by Aleshia Jones with 24 points. 

NMU dominated the glass 39-22, with eight 'Cats recording at least four rebounds. The 'Cats also had the upper hand in assists, 18-8, with seven contributing to that total. 

With seeds 1-4 winning on Wednesday, the Wildcats will now head downstate to Grand Valley to take on No. 3 seed Ferris State in the GLIAC semifinals. The game will start at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 8. 


How it Happened
After a slow start to the first, each side heated up in a quarter that saw six lead changes and a 16-16 deadlock heading to the second. NMU shot well, going 7-11 (63.6%) from the field, but were held back by six turnovers. 

The hot offense carried over to the second, in large part thanks to Weisbrod. The junior hit four threes in the quarter to lead a 30-point second quarter effort. Ending the first half on a 12-2 run, NMU doubled up the Cardinals 30-15 in the second and shot 11-18 (61.1%) overall and 6-8 (75.0%) from three. 

Leading 46-31 at the break, Northern was 18-29 (62.1%) in the half while the Cardinals also shot well, going 12-23 (52.2%). The Wildcats were 8-14 (57.1%) from three while SVSU was also hot, going 5-7 (71.4%). Weisbrod scored 16 points in the half on a perfect 6-6 mark from the field. 

Another three from Weisbrod got the 'Cats going in the second half, as she was 5-5 from deep at the time. After some halftime adjustments, the offenses cooled off in the third. Northern outscored Saginaw 18-13, going 8-10 from the charity stripe. 

The fourth also had a slow start, but the 'Cats maintained its comfortable double-digit lead all the way to the finish line. 


Up Next
The Wildcats will head to Grand Valley to play in the GLIAC semifinals on Saturday, March 8 vs. No. 3 seed Ferris State at 4:30 p.m. Host and No. 1 Grand Valley will meet No. 4 Wayne State in the first semifinal at 2 p.m., with the winners meeting in the championship game on Sunday.