North Michigan News

Northern Michigan University's women's basketball team is preparing for two important conference games against Wayne State University and Saginaw Valley State University. The Wildcats, with a record of 11-3 overall and 5-1 in the conference, will face the Wayne State Warriors on Thursday, January 16, at 5:30 p.m., followed by a game against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals on Saturday, January 18, at 1 p.m.

Fans can watch the games on the FloSports app or listen to them on 100.3 The Point with Casey Ford providing commentary. For updates during the matches, followers are encouraged to check @NMU_WBBall and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Casey Thousand, head coach of NMU's team, expressed anticipation for the upcoming games: "This weekend is going to be a battle. The fight and grit no matter who we play against has been really good, and any given night can be anybody's night, and we are excited about that."

The Wildcats are currently in a competitive position within their conference alongside Grand Valley State, Ferris State, and Parkside. They rank highly in several national categories including turnovers per game and defensive rebounds per game.

Jacy Weisbrod leads the team in scoring but has missed recent games due to injury. Alyssa Nimz follows closely behind in scoring and recently achieved a career-high performance against Roosevelt. Sarah Newcomer contributes significantly with her assists.

Defensively, NMU has been strong this season with notable statistics in points allowed per game and opponent shooting percentages from three-point range.

Wayne State enters Marquette with an overall record of 8-6. They recently secured a decisive victory over Purdue Northwest. Shea Tripp leads Wayne State in assists while also contributing significantly to their scoring efforts.

Saginaw Valley State holds an identical overall record of 8-6 but struggles within conference play. Megan McCalla stands out as a top scorer for SVSU along with Aleshia Jones who poses an outside threat.

Historically, NMU holds favorable records against both teams having won previous encounters last season.