MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan women's basketball team closed the regular season on a high note, defeating the Parkside Rangers 65-56 on Saturday afternoon at Vandament Arena. 

Northern finishes the regular season at 24-6 overall and 15-5 in the GLIAC. They are the No. 4 seed in the GLIAC Tournament and will host No. 5 Michigan Tech. 

In a defensive battle, the Wildcats jumped out of the gates to a 7-0 lead while Parkside took nearly five minutes to score. NMU led 13-11 after one and 27-22 at halftime. 

After the Rangers briefly gained the lead in the third quarter, NMU put together a key 14-0 run to lead 45-32. Parkside cut it to two in the fourth, but a timely three from senior Sarah Newcomer, along with 10 fourth-quarter points from fellow senior Jacy Weisbrod, led the Wildcats down the stretch. 

Weisbrod led all scorers with 24 points, going 10-20 from the floor. Sydney Whitehouse and CJ Romero each had 10 points, with Romero dishing out eight assists. 

The Wildcats controlled the glass 45-30 in large part thanks to Alyssa Hill, who pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds. The Rangers only had three offensive boards and one second-chance bucket, with Hill dominating the defensive glass with 14 defensive rebounds. 


How it Happened
Northern opened fast with a 7-0 burst while Parkside went nearly five minutes without a point. The lead grew to 10-3 before Parkside scored eight of the final 11 to close the quarter. Northern led 13-11 after one.

A 9-0 run highlighted the second quarter, sparked by a Jacy Weisbrod three and back-to-back backdoor cuts finished by Sydney Whitehouse off CJ Romero feeds. It remained a defensive grind, with both teams shooting under 38% in the half. 

Northern took a 27-22 lead into halftime, with Alyssa Hill grabbing 11 first-half rebounds.

Parkside used a 10-4 run to take its first lead at 32-31 midway through the third. Northern responded with buckets on six straight possessions, fueling a pivotal 14-0 surge in under three minutes that included threes from Satah Newcomer and Weisbrod. Parkside trimmed the margin back to nine, 47-38, entering the fourth.

Parkside scored the first five points of the fourth to pull within four and later cut it to two, but Northern answered with the next five to push the lead to 57-50 midway through the quarter. The Wildcats held firm down the stretch to secure the win.


Up Next
The Wildcats are the No. 4 seed in the GLIAC Tournament and will host No. 5 Michigan Tech on Wednesday, March 4, at 5:30 p.m.