Wildcats held scoreless in last three minutes of the game
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan women’s basketball team dropped a heartbreaker on Thursday night at Vandament Arena, falling 61-60 to the Wayne State Warriors.
The Wildcats held a 60-53 lead with three minutes to play, but a late 8-0 charge from the Warriors, capped off by a go-ahead triple from Jaci Tubergen with 16.9 seconds left, gave Wayne State the victory.
Sarah Newcomer led the ‘Cats in scoring, recording 14 points with four triples. Back in action, Jacy Weisbrod returned to the court and made her mark with nine points on 3-4 from three. Abi Fraaza pulled down seven rebounds while Alyssa Nimz, Mackenzie Holzwart, and Alyssa Hill all recorded five each. WSU’s McKenna Ferguson paced all players with 17 points, nine rebounds, and four steals.
The teams shot eerily similar in the back-and-forth affair, with NMU going 22-59 (37.3%) to WSU’s 20-53 (37.7%). Neither side led by more than eight, with seven ties and 12 lead changes. NMU led in rebounds 38-33, assists 16-10, but committed seven more turnovers where the Warriors outscored the Wildcats 18-7 off of turnovers.
Back-to-back offensive rebounds from Nimz allowed Newcomer to score Northern’s first two points with a swift layup. While Wayne State went scoreless for five minutes, Weisbrod made her comeback debut with an instant three-pointer to put the ‘Cats on top 7-4. Though NMU held the advantage in rebounds (11-10), Wayne State forced the ‘Cats into six turnovers in the first 10 minutes, resulting in a 11-9 lead for the visitors. Each team was 1-7 (14.3%) from three.
Northern came out guns blazing in the second quarter, with triples from Newcomer and Weisbrod to give Northern the lead once again (22-18), the first multi-possession lead of the night. Holwart and Kayla Tierney added points to the scoreboard, and with over six ‘Cats having rebounds, Nimz led the team at five in total. NMU went into halftime with a 26-22 lead, being 10-33 (30.3%) from the field compared to Wayne State’s 8-28 (28.6%). The ‘Cats and the Warriors both went 100% at the free throw line in the opening half.
The Warriors came out aggressive in the third quarter, as they took back the lead three minutes in with a 7-0 run. But Northern quickly regained the advantage on a Newcomer triple, her third of the game. Addison Pytleski hit a left-handed jumper to beat the shot clock, and Weisbrod swished her third triple of the game as the sides continued to exchange blows. With the three-point duo back in action, Newcomer and Weisbrod each hit another from deep to give NMU a 48-40 with a minute to play in the third, the largest lead for either side on the night.
With more back-and-forth in the fourth, all runs were pivotal. NMU led 60-53 with three minutes to play, but unfortunately for the ‘Cats, the last run came from the visitors, as eight straight points gave WSU the 61-60 lead late that would hold for the final score.
Up Next
The Wildcats will face No. 6 in the GLIAC Saginaw Valley on Saturday, January 18th at 1p.m.
