Great Lakes Wire

After finishing the regular season with a three-game winning streak, Northern Michigan University's women's basketball team is preparing to host a GLIAC quarterfinal game for the third consecutive year. The Wildcats, who secured the No. 2 seed in the GLIAC tournament, will face No. 7 Saginaw Valley State on Wednesday, March 5 at Vandament Arena.

Northern Michigan ended their season with a record of 21-7 overall and 15-5 in conference play. Saginaw Valley State enters the tournament with an overall record of 15-13 and a GLIAC record of 9-11. The two teams have split their meetings this season, with Northern winning their last encounter 69-59.

The game will be available for viewing on FloHoops and can be listened to live on 100.3 The Point, featuring commentary by Casey Ford.

In preparation for the quarterfinals, Northern Michigan clinched second place in the conference standings behind Grand Valley State after securing victories in their final three games of the season. Their recent performances include a dominant win against Roosevelt and close victories over Parkside Rangers and Purdue Northwest.

Head coach Casey Thousand has led NMU to consistent improvement over her three seasons, achieving a record of 58-30 (.659). This marks the third straight year that NMU has hosted a home GLIAC quarterfinal game.

The Wildcats are ranked inside the top-50 nationally in several statistical categories: defensive rebounds per game (18th), assist/turnover ratio (31st), field goal percentage defense (44th), turnovers per game (44th), rebound margin (48th), and scoring defense (48th).

Junior Jacy Weisbrod leads NMU's scoring efforts with an average of 13.6 points per game and ranks among national leaders in made three-pointers per game. Other key contributors include Sarah Newcomer, Abi Fraaza, Alyssa Nimz, Hill, and freshman Sydney Whitehouse.

Saginaw Valley finished their GLIAC season at seventh place after defeating Ferris State in their regular-season finale. They rank third in conference scoring defense while leading nationally in steals per game.

Sophomore forward Megan McCalla leads SVSU offensively with an average of 17.2 points per game while senior guard Aleshia Jones excels from the free throw line.

Historically, Northern holds a favorable all-time record against Saginaw Valley but experienced mixed results this season against them.

The upcoming GLIAC tournament features other matchups including Grand Valley State vs. Michigan Tech; Wayne State vs. Parkside; Ferris State vs. Roosevelt; and Northern Michigan vs. Saginaw Valley State on March 5.