After a weekend on the road which included a victory over Lake Superior State University and a loss to Northwood University, the Women’s Basketball team stands sixth in the GLIAC with the conference record of 10-6 as they prepare to host home games this weekend against the Saginaw Valley Cardinals and the Wayne State Warriors.

“You always want to go in thinking you’re going to get two wins but we knew neither one of them was going to be an easy game,” head coach Troy Mattson said. “We played well defensively all weekend long and we rebounded well all weekend long.”

In Thursday’s game against Lake State, the Wildcats shot out to an early lead and kept the Lakers off the board up till the 3:18 mark of the first quarter.

A 3-point shot from LSSU’s Lexi Khon would be the only basket for the Lakers in the first frame. The  Wildcats hammered out another nine unanswered points to close up the quarter and put them at a 17-3 advantage. Lake State outscored Northern in the second quarter and went into the second half 10 points under the ’Cats 25-15.

The Wildcats outscored the Lakers 30-23 in the second half and ended the competition 55-38.

While Northern was able to hold onto the lead for the entire game, this would not be the case in Saturday’s matchup against the Northwood Timberwolves, which ended in a tight 55-53 Northwood victory. The game was close throughout, featuring 12 ties and 14 lead changes. The teams were neck-and-neck in the first quarter and ended the first half 26-25, the Wildcats advantage.

Two free throws from sophomore center Taylor Hodell at the 2:22 mark of the final quarter  put the Wildcats at a tight 51-50 advantage. A Timberwolf three-pointer and a lay up off of a steal put Northwood over, 55-51.

Senior guard Bre Gaspervich would bring the Wildcats back into scoring distance but would prove to be the last basket of the game which ended in a Northwood victory 55-53.
Mattson said while he felt the team performed well in the Northwood game, their ultimate downfall was free throw shooting. The team went 11-20 on the foul line.

“The whole game could have been decided on the free throw line,” Mattson said. “11-20 on the road is not going to cut it. We need to bounce back from that and get back on a winning track and keep playing well.”

Mattson added that the poor percentage from the charity stripe may have been due to fatigue built from playing five games in 10 days but noted that the Northwood team also has had a busy schedule, so both teams were tired during the competition.

The team now gears up for their last home games of the regular season against Saginaw Valley and Wayne State; two teams that have overcome the Wildcats in away games earlier in the
season. Freshman forward Jessica Schultz said she feels being able to finish up baskets and setting up 3-point plays will help them overcome their opponents.

“Limiting turnovers is a really big thing and obviously making our free throws, that can cost us the game as we found out,” Schultz added.

Northern Michigan, now 15-8 (10-6 GLIAC), takes on Saginaw Valley State Thursday and Wayne State Saturday. Free tickets can be picked up at Jill Leonard State Farm (for Feb. 9’s game) and Art Van Furniture (for Feb. 11’s game).