North Michigan News

Trailing by 12 points in the third quarter, the Northern Michigan University (NMU) women's basketball team staged a comeback to defeat the Rangers. Jacy Weisbrod led the Wildcats with 22 points, 16 of which were scored in the second half, helping NMU maintain an unbeaten record of 8-0.

This marks NMU's best start since the 1998-99 season when they began with a 16-0 run. Among the 290 teams in Division II, NMU is one of only 14 without a loss and one of three undefeated teams in the Midwest region, alongside Grand Valley State and McKendree.

Saturday's game against the Rangers was competitive. Weisbrod shot 53.3% from the field and made three out of six attempts from beyond the arc. Mackenzie Holzwart contributed five assists and ten points, while Alyssa Nimz added 13 points and led with eight rebounds.

The Wildcats shot 40% from the field compared to Parkside's 40.6%. They had a slight edge in three-pointers, shooting at 41.2%, while Parkside managed 33.3%. NMU also secured three more rebounds than their opponents and forced one additional turnover.

The game began with Weisbrod scoring a jumper just outside the paint. Despite some back-and-forth play, Parkside took a narrow lead into the second quarter after NMU failed to score for six minutes.

Kayla Tierney's three-pointer briefly put NMU ahead in the second quarter, but Parkside regained control with Sheridan Flauger's successful shot from beyond the arc. At halftime, NMU trailed by one point with both teams shooting an identical percentage from the field.

In response to Parkside's strong third-quarter start, NMU quickly closed their deficit with a series of successful triples, including two from Weisbrod. By closing out on a strong note, they entered the fourth quarter trailing by just one point.

Tierney opened up scoring in the final quarter with another three-pointer as part of an extended run that saw NMU take control of the game. With solid defense and timely scoring down the stretch, they maintained their lead until Weisbrod sealed it with a late basket.

Looking ahead, NMU will take a break from GLIAC play before facing Northwood and Ashland later this month.