The NMU Wildcats women’s basketball team had some very tough competition this past weekend against both Lake Superior State (LSSU) and Ferris State. The team dominated against both teams, taking home two wins, with scores of 67-44, and 75-48. The win against Ferris State secured Northern the second-place spot in the GLIAC rankings. The team’s current record is 18-6.

In the first of the two games, the team had some tough competition against LSSU. The game extended their winning streak to four games. The only lead that LSSU had was during the first few minutes of the game, but that lead was cut short and never returned.

Freshman Sydney Whitehouse scored a career-high 17 points during the game, followed by Alyssa Hill with 14 points and Jacy Weisbrod with 13 points. Out of the 12 players that hit the court, all of them had a rebound, and 11 of them scored as well. The biggest scoring gap came in the fourth quarter, with the score being 59-29, having a 30-point gap between Northern and LSSU.

In the second game of the weekend, the team faced off against Ferris State. There was a lot riding on this game, as it was not only the team’s Play4Kay fundraiser and their senior night, but a win would allow the team to secure second place in the GLIAC rankings.

The Wildcats had the lead for the majority of the game, with Hill scoring a career-high 19 points during this game. Whitehouse followed behind Hill, adding 10 points to the scoreboard.

The Wildcats’ defense kept Ferris State on their toes, preventing them from taking the lead while also keeping the score close. Northern went scoreless for three minutes going into the third quarter until another basket was added to make the score 52-30. The third quarter was also the lowest-scoring quarter of the game, even though the lead was 63-39. The game ended with NMU on top.

The team only has four games left in the regular season, with their next game in Houghton against rival Michigan Tech. The team then travels to Chicago to face off against Roosevelt, and then their last two regular-season matchups include Parkside and Purdue Northwest.

Following the final games of the season, the team will go straight into the GLIAC tournament quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, the top four seeds face off against each other, and then the winners advance to the semifinals before the finals on March 9.