This story was written by NMU Sports Information. Click the AUDIO button to hear Casey Thousand post-game comments. (NMU photo)
MARQUETTE, Mich. – After four quarters and a five-minute overtime session in Thursday's home opener, the No. 15 Northern Michigan women's basketball team took down the St. Cloud State University Huskies 77-69 in a back-and-forth thriller. The 'Cats remained unbeaten at 6-0 while handing the Huskies their first loss at 2-1.
The Wildcats trailed by as many as 15 in the second half, but chipped away at the lead to tie it late. With 3.3 seconds left in the game and tied 64-64, a beautiful play design found Sarah Newcomer open for a wide-open back-door layup, but the shot came a fraction of a second late to send the game to an extra session.
In overtime, the Wildcats trailed 67-64, but a three from Jacy Weisbrod evened the score. After SCSU briefly regained the lead, Weisbrod tacked on another triple the next trip down to spark a 10-0 run to end the game over the final 2:30.
With two key threes in overtime, along with the game-tying triple to end regulation, Weisbrod paced the Wildcats with 22 points with five threes and four steals. Sarah Newcomer added 16, with three triples coming in the third quarter rally. She also led the team with five assists. Addison Pytleski chipped in 10. St. Cloud was led by Alana Zarneke with 22 points.
Jordyn Schmittdiel had her most impactful game of her career. In just 17 minutes, she led NMU with nine rebounds, including six on the offensive end, all coming at crucial times. She also led all players with an outstanding +21 in her time on the court.
The Wildcats shot 38.6% (27-70) from field goal range and 41.9% (13-31) on three-pointers. This efficient offense tallied 20 total assists while the defense was disruptive, forcing SCSU into 23 turnovers, 15 of which came with steals.
