If you want to beat your rivals at home, the best strategy is to control the pace of the game. If you want to dominate your rivals at home, the best strategy is to control the pace of the game and win by 27 points. If you want to have bragging rights over your rival for the next year, the best strategy is to control the pace of the game, win by 27 points, and have your top scorer put 25 points on 63.6% shooting including a half-court buzzer beater on your rival’s head.

For the No. 14 Northern Michigan Wildcats, all of those factors resulted in the Wildcats’ fifth time in their last six meetings with Lake Superior State where the ‘Cats scored at least 70 points. The W also extends Northern’s streak against the Lakers to 11 wins in a row, with LSSU’s last victory over the Wildcats coming on Feb. 13, 2020.

Even with the Lakers jumping out fast and early to a 10-5 lead, a 16-2 run by the Wildcats would ensure NMU never relinquished the lead afterwards. LSSU would manage to cut the lead to seven with about four minutes to play in the second quarter, but a furious effort and a nothing-but-net half-court heave from Sarah Newcomer pushed the lead up to 41-25 as time expired in the first half.

Rejuvenated from Newcomer’s almighty shot, the ‘Cats continued to lap the Lakers up and down the court in the second half, pushing the deficit up to 20 plus points with seven minutes to play in the third quarter. Newcomer and Sydney Whitehouse continued their monster campaigns, with Newcomer posting a game-high 25 points alongside four rebounds and an assist. Whitehouse chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds, with six of those boards coming on the offensive side of the ball. Collectively, NMU was relentless in pestering the Lakers all night, forcing 18 turnovers and winning the rebound tilt 48-34, including a 16-4 offensive rebound discrepancy.

“We’ve still got things that we need to work on, but I’m very proud of how our team came out and played,” said head coach Casey Thousand. “The energy in the facility was fantastic, just with all the fans in the stands. We have a really great home court right now, and it’s just really fun to play in front of our fans.”

Having now earned their 20th win of the 2025-26 campaign, the Wildcats will look to build off of their weekend sweep for their final stretch of road contests this weekend. On Thursday, Feb. 12, NMU will travel down to the 313 to take on the Wayne State Warriors once more. Then, the ‘Cats will cross state lines into Indiana for a no-love-lost Valentine’s Day clash with the Purdue Northwest Pride. Both matches will be available on FloSports, and tip-off will be at 5:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. respectively.