The crowd was roaring in the final minutes of the women’s basketball game between Northern Michigan and Ferris State as the teams went into overtime, leading to a loss for the ’Cats.
The Wildcats were down 70-73 when the final buzzer rang after an additional five minutes of playing time. They are currently tied with Saginaw for sixth in the GLIAC North Conference with a record of 8-9. The ’Cats are one game behind Northwood, who is currently 9-8.
Head coach Troy Mattson said it was a big game that proved to be just that, and, despite the youth of the team, the girls fought to the finish.
“It was a great game,” Mattson said. “The people who came saw one heck of a ball game. There was a lot at stake here tonight, and (Ferris State’s junior guard) Sarah DeShone stuck it in our back with those two threes and that’s why she’s one of the best. We made some incredibly tough plays in the second quarter and we’re all freshman and sophomores. We’re going in the right direction and playing tough ball for how young we are.”
On Saturday, Feb. 9, the Wildcats trailed the Bulldogs throughout the first period. NMU went into the locker room at the half with a six point deficit, 24-30.
In the second period, sophomore forward Brooke Coenen made a layup at 18:15 to tie the game at 30. From that point on, neither team led by no more than five points.
With 15 minutes left in the game, Ferris State’s Sarah DeShone dropped a three-point shot to cut the Bulldog deficit down to two. The Wildcats held the lead 37-35. Sophomore guard Alyssa Colla made a run for the ’Cats by drawing several fouls and finishing at the line. Colla had 10 points in the second half and finished with a team high of 18 points.
Both teams continued to rack up points, and at the three-minute mark NMU was up 55-51.
The Wildcats made it to the line eight more times, and the remainder of the game the Wildcat’s points came from free throws. Sophomore guard Lauren Gruber, sophomore forward Abbey DeBruin and Colla all contributed at the line.
Within the last minute of play, DeShone hit two three pointers to put the Bulldogs up 61-60 at 24 seconds.
DeBruin made a free throw with seven seconds left to tie the game. The ball was in possession of the Bulldogs for the last seconds of the game, and Ferris State sent up a three-point shot at the final buzzer. Gruber blocked the shot to leave the ’Cats tied with Ferris at 61, putting the teams into overtime.
Colla said the Wildcats needed to focus on defending the guards during those last few minutes of play if they wanted to leave with the win.
“We can’t let their best player get three three-pointers off that,” Colla said. “We should know better. Our defense was good up to that point, and it sucks, but we still have a chance at the tournament.”
The teams went into a five minute overtime, and tied the score at 66 with 1:57 left on the clock. However, a three-point shot by Ferris State’s Kylie Muntz put the Bulldogs up by one with 1:20 to play.
Colla put in a lay-up with six seconds left, but the game ended with a Wildcat loss, 70-73.
On Thursday, Feb. 7 the ’Cats lost 56-67 to Grand Valley State.
Colla scored a team-high 22 points and took down seven rebounds. Freshman guard Anna Liewen added 11 points and four rebounds. Gruber and DeBruin contributed an additional 10 points each.
DeBruin said the team faced a difficult stretch this weekend, but is prepared for future games.
“It’s tough,” DeBruin said. “We know we’ve got to get tougher and get some wins no matter what it takes.”
The Wildcats play at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 14 at Saginaw Valley State. They continue their trek on the road at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Wayne State.
“We stuck with it until the end,” Gruber said. “You can’t deny the effort.”
