MARQUETTE, Mich. – Just like that, basketball season has arrived. The Northern Michigan women's basketball team is set to begin its season at the D2 CCA Midwest Tip-Off Challenge from Friday, October 30, through Sunday, November 1. 

With 12 teams (women and men) taking the court at the Justagame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells, it will be a busy weekend of hoops. Participating women's teams include: Northern Michigan, Central Missouri, Grand Valley State, Lake Superior State, Minnesota State Mankato, and Truman State. 

NMU will open the season against Central Missouri on Friday, October 30, at 11:15 a.m. CT. They will then take on Truman State on Halloween at 1:30 p.m. CT. The Wildcats will wrap up the tournament on Sunday, November 1, at 1:30 p.m. CT against Minnesota State Mankato. 

Friday's and Sunday's games can be listened to on 100.3 The Point, while Saturday's can be heard on the airwaves of 94.9 The Bay. Casey Ford will be on the call. The games will also be streamed on the Justagame Fieldhouse website. 


Follow the Action
Follow @NMU_WBBall on Instagram and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the games.


A Word From Casey Thousand
"We have a lot of new faces and we have people who need to step up. We are going to lean on key returners. We play some very good teams and the competition will be very high-level. We will learn about facing adversity and how we respond to it without having a senior on our roster. There will be a lot of learning curves, but hopefully we can learn and adapt fast."



About the Wildcats
Under head coach Casey Thousand, now in her fifth season, the Wildcats boast an 85-40 overall record, including 53-23 in the GLIAC. Despite losing four starters from a season ago, the Wildcats return nine players, including several key contributors from last season's 25-8 campaign. NMU has also brought in six freshmen and one transfer.

The Wildcats will look to replace significant production from a season ago, including All-GLIAC First Team selections Jacy Weisbrod and Sarah Newcomer. Weisbrod finished her career as the program's all-time leader in three-pointers with 278 and set a single-season program record with 106 triples last season.

Headlining the returning group is reigning GLIAC Sixth Woman of the Year Sydney Whitehouse. The junior from Green Bay, Wisconsin, was selected to the All-GLIAC Preseason First Team after appearing in all 33 games and averaging 9.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Whitehouse scored in double figures 15 times, including a career-high 25 points in the GLIAC Quarterfinals against Michigan Tech.

Also returning is Addison Pytleski, who averaged 7.2 points per game and ranked second on the team with a 38.8% three-point shooting percentage. Faith Walder (5.7 ppg), Madison Schroeder (4.5 ppg), and Jordyn Schmittdiel (3.6 ppg) also return and look to play key roles. Schmittdiel ranked second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game while leading the Wildcats with 18 blocks.

Also returning and looking to step into larger roles are Haddie Showen, Ava Bates, Addison Baumgart, and Elsa Bachert. The Wildcats will also look to their incoming freshmen and transfer to help fill the gaps left by last season's departures.

The Wildcats have hosted a GLIAC Tournament game in each of the past four seasons and will look to return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season in 2026-27.


2026-27 GLIAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Grand Valley State, 100 (10)
2. Northern Michigan, 84
3. Parkside, 76 (1)
4. Ferris State, 75
5. Wayne State, 68
6. Roosevelt, 53
7. Michigan Tech, 49
8. Davenport, 31
9. Lake Superior State, 29
10. Saginaw Valley State, 24
11. Purdue Northwest, 16