Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University women's basketball team is set to retire Lisa Jamula Maki's #40 jersey, marking the first jersey retirement in the program's history. The ceremony will take place on Sunday, November 3, during an exhibition game against Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Notably, Lisa's daughter, Keira Maki, a recent graduate of Escanaba High School, plays for the Stevens Point team.

Lisa Jamula Maki played for Northern Michigan from 1987 to 1991 and scored a total of 1,699 points over her four-year career. This record was the highest in NMU history for more than three decades. She ranks second in career rebounds with 893 and also recorded 256 assists. Additionally, she holds the program record for free throws attempted at 557.

In her sophomore year in 1989, Lisa achieved significant milestones with 491 points (17.5 ppg) and 248 rebounds (8.9 rpg), setting records for sophomores in the program. As a senior, she scored 619 points with an average of 20.0 ppg, placing her among the top five single-season performances in NMU history. Over her career spanning 111 games, she averaged 15.3 points per game with a shooting percentage of 46.8% and averaged eight rebounds per game.

Lisa received All-GLIAC First Team honors consecutively from 1989 to 1991 and was named to the All-Defensive team in both 1990 and 1991. She concluded her college basketball career as the GLIAC Player of the Year in her senior year.

In recognition of her contributions to sports at NMU, Lisa was inducted into the NMU Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Athletic Director Rick Comley expressed his excitement about this milestone: "We are thrilled for Lisa and this tremendous honor of having the first jersey retired in program history. She has proven she has earned this honor with her career accomplishments and we are excited for what this means for the program moving forward."

Women's Basketball Head Coach Casey Thousand added: "We are thrilled to celebrate Lisa (Jamula) Maki's athletic career. She accomplished so much during her time at NMU and helped foster a championship program... Not only was Lisa an outstanding student-athlete, she has continued to support our program as an alum."