Story, photo courtesy of NMU Sports Information. Click the AUDIO button to hear Casey Ford interview Coach Casey Thousand.
MARQUETTE, Mich. - In a big GLIAC contest in the Upper Peninsula, NMU Wildcat fans packed the Vandament Arena to see their Northern Michigan Wildcats face rival Michigan Tech Thursday night. The Wildcats came out on top after a four-quarter battle, 68-57.
MTU led 19-12 after one and 38-32 at halftime. Despite the Huskies holding control for most of the contest, the Wildcats took control late in the third quarter. Northern outscored the Huskies 19-9 in that frame, including the last eight with a buzzer-beater three from Jacy Weisbrod to lead 51-47 heading to the fourth, where they'd again outscore Tech 17-10.
The Huskies tied the game once in the final 10 minutes and pulled within one possession two other times, but Northern never let them get the lead back. The Wildcats would score the final nine points over the last two minutes to put the game on ice.
The 'Cats out-rebounded the Huskies 19-6 in their offensive ends, leading to an advantage in key second-chance points. Alyssa Hill tallied 10 total rebounds on the day to lead the Wildcats in the category, 42-35.
Jacy Weisbrod led NMU in points with 16, and CJ Romero was right behind her with 15 points to go along with six boards and five assists. Addison Pytleski also found double figures with 11, while Michigan Tech was led by Soraya Timms with a game-high 17.
The Wildcats are now 13-4 in the GLIAC and 22-5 overall. The Huskies fell to 15-10, 9-8.
