GLIAC STUNNER: Wildcats Suffocate Lakers 48-37

This story was written by NMU Sports Information

GRAND RAPIDS---The Northern Michigan University Women's Basketball upset #7 Grand Valley State University 48-37 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Semifinals to advance to the GLIAC Championship.

Junior Jessica Schultz (Mineral Point, Wis.) notched her second-straight double-double as she finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Elizabeth Lutz (Marshall, Wis.) tallied seven points while seniors Darby Youngstrom (Cook, Minn.) and Tess Weatherly (Howell, Mich.), and sophomore Amber Huebner (Marquette, Mich.) all posted six points. Senior Sydney Dillinger (Houghton, Mich.) chipped in with five points in the fourth quarter.

Youngstrom also added seven rebounds to her efforts.

As a team, NMU committed just one turnover in the second half. They also shot 45% from three in the second half while keeping GVSU to 15%.

The Wildcats faced an 11-0 deficit after the first ten minutes but bounced back. Schultz got NMU on the board with a hook shot inside the paint then Huebner hit a jumper to open the second quarter.

Two possessions later, Schultz knocked down a three and followed it with another basket in the paint to make the score 11-9 at the 5:32 mark in the second quarter. The Lakers responded with a bucket but Huebner answered by driving in for a layup and made it 13-11 with four minutes to play.

The Lakers replied with a free throw and a three-pointer but Schultz hit a jumper to make it 17-13 with 1:19 to go in the half. GVSU would hit a three and Lutz made a jumper near the buzzer to send the teams into halftime with a 20-17 lead.

Youngstrom got the second half started with a layup then Weatherly knocked in a three to tie the score at 20-20 at the 8:20 mark. The Lakers responded with four points before Schultz hit a jumper and Lutz sank two free throws to tie it again at 24-24.

After a GVSU layup, Weatherly knocked in a second three to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 27-26 with 4:15 on the clock. The Lakers answered with a layup but Schultz replied with a three to give NMU a 30-28 lead.

Grand Valley closed the quarter with two threes and Youngstrom made a layup at the buzzer to make it 34-32 with GVSU on top as the teams entered the fourth quarter.

Dillinger tied itup with a layup to open the fourth quarter then three minutes in, Lutz made a three to give the Wildcats a 37-34 lead.

With 4:36 on the clock, Dillinger made a three to extend the Wildcat lead up to 40-34. After a media timeout, GVSU scored four quick points but Schultz stopped the rally with a hook shot to make it 42-38 with 3:20 to play.

With 55 seconds to go, Youngstrom put in two more free throws then Huebner added two more with 25 seconds left. With 12 seconds left, Schultz hit one more free throw to give NMU the 47-38.

The Wildcats kept GVSU to just four points in the fourth quarter while keep them to just 28.6% shooting from the field.

The Wildcats improve to 22-8 on the season and matches the most wins in a season of the Troy Mattson era. NMU will now face #6 Ashland University, the two seed of the GLIAC Tournament, at 3 p.m. at Grand Valley State for the GLIAC Championship. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.