Jacy Weisbrod leads Wildcats with 22 points
MARQUETTE, Mich. – After four quarters and a five-minute overtime session in Thursday’s home opener, the No. 15 Northern Michigan women’s basketball team took down the St. Cloud State University (SCSU) Huskies 77-69 in a back-and-forth thriller. The ‘Cats remained unbeaten at 6-0 while handing the Huskies their first loss at 2-1.
The Wildcats trailed by as many as 15 in the second half, but chipped away at the lead to tie it late. With 3.3 seconds left in the game and tied 64-64, a beautiful play design found Sarah Newcomer open for a wide-open back-door layup, but the shot came a fraction of a second late to send the game to an extra session.
In overtime, the Wildcats trailed 67-64, but a three from Jacy Weisbrod evened the score. After SCSU briefly regained the lead, Weisbrod tacked on another triple the next trip down to spark a 10-0 run to end the game over the final 2:30.
With two key threes in overtime, along with the game-tying triple to end regulation, Weisbrod paced the Wildcats with 22 points with five threes and four steals. Sarah Newcomer added 16, with three triples coming in the third quarter rally. She also led the team with five assists. Addison Pytleski chipped in 10. St. Cloud was led by Alana Zarneke with 22 points.
Jordyn Schmittdiel had her most impactful game of her career. In just 17 minutes, she led NMU with nine rebounds, including six on the offensive end, all coming at crucial times. She also led all players with an outstanding +21 in her time on the court.
The Wildcats shot 38.6% (27-70) from field goal range and 41.9% (13-31) on three-pointers. This efficient offense tallied 20 total assists while the defense was disruptive, forcing SCSU into 23 turnovers, 15 of which came with steals.
How It Happened
The Wildcats began with an early 5-0 lead, seeing points from Alyssa Hill alongside a three from Newcomer. With five minutes left in the first quarter, Weisbrod began to heat up, acing one from the paint, followed directly up with three more points. The Huskies bounced back, taking the lead with three minutes remaining in the quarter. However, two points from Hill and two successful free throws from Faith Walder set the ‘Cats up by one going into quarter two (16-15).
Opening play back up, St. Cloud shifted the momentum of the game with the first five points, going up 20-16 over NMU. The teams exchanged back-and-forth play, with the Huskies leading for nearly all of the 10-minute quarter. Sydney Whitehouse, Weisbrod, and Romero all recorded three pointers in attempts to keep the Huskies’ lead within reach. The teams entered the half at 38-32 in favor of St. Cloud State.
The Huskies scored the first four points of the second half to secure a double-digit lead and made each of their first five shots. Pytleski opened the scoring back up for the Wildcats with a triple, but the Huskies continued to step on the gas, stretching their advantage to 15 (50-35), the largest of the game. Newcomer stepped up for the Wildcats, making three quick three-pointers to push NMU back within four (50-46). Pytleski also added four points to the Wildcat rally with two free throws and a bucket from inside the paint, followed by a big and one play from Weisbrod. By the end of the quarter, NMU had closed the gap to just a five-point game (58-53).
In the fourth, Newcomer returned to the court right where she left off, sinking a three within the first minute of play. Following a bucket from Weisbrod, Schmittdiel grabbed a big rebound, sending the ball back to the Wildcat offense. Unlike the third, SCSU started the quarter cold, missing its first seven attempts. After alternating empty possession between the teams, Walder gave NMU the lead (60-59) with 5:30 to play. As the clock ticked down, the ‘Cats continued this pressure as Weisbrod recorded another three with 1:42 to go, tying the score 63-63. That score was maintained until the final possession. A beautifully executed play from Northern was waved off as it came a hair too late, sending the game to overtime.
Drawing first in the five-minute overtime was the Huskies; however, Weisbrod was not going down without a fight, sinking two huge threes to lead 70-67. That second three kickstarted a clutch close to the game. With multiple rebounds, a big lay-up, and two made free throws from Schmittdiel, the Wildcats increased their lead to eight points, the largest of the game. The Wildcats closed on a 10-0 run, holding the Huskies scoreless over the final three minutes to secure the victory.
Up Next
The Wildcats will return to Vandamant Arena tomorrow evening, at 5:30 p.m., to face the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, who are coming off an overtime game of their own in which they lost 79-69 at Michigan Tech on Thursday night.
