MARQUETTE, Mich. – After a narrow defeat to No. 1 Grand Valley State on Saturday, the Northern Michigan women's basketball team will look to return to its winning ways starting this week. 

The No. 14 Wildcats (12-2, 3-1) will travel to Houghton to take on rival Michigan Tech on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 5:30 p.m. Northern will then return home for a matchup with the Ferris State Bulldogs on Monday, Jan. 12, at 5:30 p.m.

Last weekend, the Wildcats defeated Davenport 73-46, setting up arguably the biggest matchup across the nation on Saturday. Against the undefeated reigning national champions, the Wildcats pulled within six with two minutes to play, but ultimately fell 78-66. 

Both Thursday's and Monday's games will be streamed on FloCollege, or listened to live on 100.3 The Point, with Casey Ford on the call. Thursday's game vs. the Huskies will also air on Fox-UP, with Dave Ellis on the call.


Follow the Action
Follow @NMU_WBBall on Instagram and @NMU_Wildcats on X for updates leading up to and during the games.


A Word from the Coach
"We kept battling and fighting [against Grand Valley]. We learned a lot playing the number one team in the country. Right now, you don't want to be playing your best basketball. Getting those improvements and getting a reset going into Michigan Tech is good."



About the 'Cats
Northern Michigan has begun the season with a 12-2 record and is ranked No. 14 in the WBCA Poll, dropping two spots from last week. 

The Wildcats take care of the ball as well as anyone in the country, ranking second at 11.8 turnovers per game and ranking 17th with a 1.12 assist/turnover ratio. A large part of that success is the veteran presence of senior point guard CJ Romero, whose 4.1 assists per game and 1.8 assist/turnover ratio both rank top five in the conference. 

Offensively, Northern is averaging 73.4 points per game, 45th in the country, while knocking down triples at a rate of 36%, good for 12th. 

Jacy Weisbrod leads the charge for the Green and Gold and has been one of the most dangerous perimeter scorers in the nation, leading the GLIAC at 17.4 points per game. Her 3.57 made three-pointers per game, and 50 total triples both rank first in Division II, and she has connected on multiple threes in 11 of 14 games this season. She surpassed 1,000 career points in the victory against Davenport, becoming just the 29th player in program history to reach one of basketball's most coveted milestones.

Sarah Newcomer provides another scoring threat, averaging 9.6 points per game while ranking inside the GLIAC's top 12 in both made threes per game (1.9) and three-point percentage (35.6%). 

Northern's strength extends beyond its top two wings, as no Wildcat averages more than 30 minutes per game and 11 players log at least 10 minutes per contest. Alyssa Hill ranks third on the team at 8.6 points per game while sitting fifth in the GLIAC in rebounding at 7.3 per game. Addison Pytleski is averaging 8.4 ppg in her first season as a starter and is coming off a career-high 18 points against GVSU. 

The Wildcats split with the Huskies last season and defeated Ferris State twice in the regular season before falling to them in the GLIAC Tournament. 


A Look at Michigan Tech
At 9-3 overall and 3-1 in the GLIAC, the Huskies are also looking to remain near the top of the GLIAC standings. Tech is averaging 67.6 points per game while allowing 64.3. MTU leads the nation with a 81.7% mark at the free throw line, so keeping them out of the paint and off the charity stripe will be important. 

They are led by sophomore Ella Mason, a native of Negaunee, averaging 15.4 ppg. She has connected on at least one triple in 10 straight games and has reached the 20-point mark four times this season. Behind Mason, Alyssa Wypych (11.1 pgg) and Janie Tormanen (10.6) also average in double figures. 


A Look at No. 22 Ferris State
The Bulldogs are 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the GLIAC. They most recently defeated Parkside in a thriller, 96-90. Ferris will play Michigan Tech on Saturday before making the trip to Marquette. The Bulldogs rank fourth nationally in assists per game (18.4), fifth in free throw percentage (81%), and eighth in three pointers per game (8.8). 

The offense, averaging 78.4 points per game, is paced by Kadyn Blanchard at 17.5 ppg, only trailing Weisbrod in the category across the conference. Mia Riley (14.6 ppg) and Mya Hiram (13.0) are also legit scoring threats. All three average over five boards per game for the top rebounding team in the GLIAC, while Kenzie Bowers leads the way at 6.3 rpg.