NMU Women Rally In Detroit; Clinch Home Playoff

This story was written by NMU Sports Information. (NMU Photo) Click the AUDIO button to hear Coach Casey Thousand comments.

DETROIT - The Northern Michigan women's basketball team (18-7, 12-4) battled back on Saturday afternoon to defeat the Wayne State Warriors (16-10, 9-8) 80-74 in the Motor City. The win was the sixth straight for the Wildcats and secured a home GLIAC Quarterfinals game for the second straight season.

With 6:55 to play, Northern trailed 71-65. The Green and Gold then went on an 11-0 run to grab a five-point lead. A WSU three made it 76-74 with 42 seconds left, but Abi Fraaza connected on a layup with 21 seconds and Sarah Newcomer went nothing but net on back-to-back free throws with 14 seconds remaining to secure a 80-74 road win.

The Wildcats were once again led by its top two scorers, as Makaylee Kuhn matched her jersey number with 24 points and Jacy Weisbrod was right behind with 22, including a 6-10 showing from beyond the arc. Weisbrod got the 'Cats started as she has time and time again, scoring 11 first quarter points.

It wasn't just an effort from Weisbrod that got the Wildcats off to a hot start. The team connected on its first five threes and went 6-9 from downtown in the opening quarter to hold its largest lead at 22-7 and lead by double digits, 25-13, heading to the second.

The Warriors clapped right back in the second stanza, starting 5-6 to quickly close the gap to 29-25 within minutes. An 8-0 WSU run was erased by an NMU 8-0 run, but the Warriors pushed back with a 9-0 spurt to close the contest to one possession. Makaylee converted an old-fashioned three-point play as part of her nine second quarter points to help Northern lead 40-34 at the break.

Another 8-0 run from the Warriors in the third gave the home team the lead and they led 63-58 with 10 minutes to play. The Warriors held its largest lead of seven at 69-62 early in the fourth, but the 'Cats never wavered, ending the game on a 15-3 tear for the come-from-behind win.

The early three-point barrage proved pivotal for Northern Michigan as they recorded four more triples (11-7) in a game with a very balanced box score.

The Wildcats finish out the final weekend of regular season play at home, hosting Grand Valley State on Thursday, February 29th followed by Davenport on March 2nd for Senior Day.