Three players get their hands on the ball, from left, Saginaw Valley State’s Lydia Meredith, Northern Michigan University’s Sydney Whitehouse and Addison Pytleski, during their GLIAC women’s game played at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University women’s basketball team has to be facing a sense of urgency after dropping the final two games of a homestand last week to fall into fourth place in the GLIAC.

The Wildcats hit the road starting today and travel to Big Rapids to face second-place Ferris State at 5:30 p.m., then come back toward home in Sault Ste. Marie to square off against ninth-place Lake Superior State at 1 p.m. Saturday.

After an 8-0 start to the season, NMU has lost five of its last eight to stand at 11-5 overall and 5-3 in the conference. Ferris is 13-4 and 7-1, while the Lakers sit at 5-11 and 2-6.

Both games will be broadcast on radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point and will also be available to watch online at the FloSports app.

Or follow @NMU_WBBall and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the games, or visit the NMU athletics website at www.nmuwildcats.com and look under the women’s basketball schedule for links to live video, live statistics, game previews and series’ histories.

Though the conference schedule will just reach the halfway point after this weekend, the Wildcats are holding onto the last home playoff spot for the GLIAC Tournament opening-round quarterfinals, a game ahead of fifth-place Michigan Tech and Wayne State.

Last week, NMU lost 61-60 to Wayne State on Thursday and 67-51 to Saginaw Valley State on Saturday at Vandament Arena. The previous week, Northern won a pair of four-point decisions, also at home, against league newcomer Roosevelt and against MTU.

In the game vs. Wayne State, the Wildcats had a 60-53 lead with three minutes remaining after CJ Romero made a pair of free throws. But Northern didn’t score again and the Warriors put in the final dagger with a 3-pointer with just 17 seconds left that gave them the one-point victory.

Sarah Newcomer led NMU scorers with 14 points, hitting four 3-pointers, while Jacy Weisbrod made her return to the court for the first time in 2025, playing limited time of just 15 minutes and hitting 3 triples for nine points.

On Saturday, the Wildcats already trailed 38-31 at halftime before coming up nearly dry in the third quarter, when they scored just four points.

Newcomer again led Northern scorers, but with only 10 points as Mackenzie Holzwart added nine and Weisbrod seven.

NMU ranks nationally in several categories — 21st fewest with 13.5 turnovers per game, 29th fewest with 14.5 fouls a contest, 30th with a 1.06 assist-to-turnover ratio and 32nd with 28.8 defensive rebounds each outing.

Despite depressing her numbers a bit with her limited return, Weisbrod is still fourth in GLIAC scoring at 14.3 points per game, making multiple 3-pointers in all but three games she’s played. Her 3.0 triples each game is fourth in the nation, also ranking No. 1 in the conference along with her making 37.1% of them.

Alyssa Nimz at 9.3 ppg is second for NMU in scoring, with seven games in double figures, as she is also eighth in the league averaging 7.1 rebounds each time out.

Newcomer is third on the team at 9.1 ppg, ranking ninth in the league at 2.9 assists a game and third with a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.

NMU’s defense has been key, with its 60.3 ppg allowed the second fewest only to national No. 1 Grand Valley State, which received all but one of the first-place votes in a national poll this week.

The Wildcats also allow opponents to shoot only 28.2% from 3, again second-best in the league.

Ferris is second to Grand Valley in the league standings and is 9-2 at home and working on a three-game winning streak, most recently downing Purdue Northwest 95-70 on Saturday.

The Bulldogs are No. 2 in GLIAC scoring at 80.1 ppg, also 10th nationally. They’re also top 10 in the country in a few other categories — fifth with 18.8 assists per game, fifth with 9.6 triples a game and ninth with a 1.27 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Senior Kadyn Blanchard is the conference’s leading scorer at 17.5 ppg, also leading the league by making 89.6% on free throws, putting her 12th in the nation. Mia Riley at 13.7 ppg and Mya Hiram at 11.7 ppg are next is FSU scoring.

Ferris also leads the league by making 35.2% on 3s and is second behind GVSU by making 43.2% from the field.

Northern is 54-38 all-time against Ferris, winning the last matchup 63-56 in the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals last season. But prior to that, the Bulldogs won seven in a row over NMU.

Lake State is actually having one of its better seasons, staying ahead of two league teams rather than being in the basement, though the Lakers lost both games last weekend, 70-60 at Purdue NW and 74-62 at Wisconsin-Parkside.

The Lakers average 56.0 ppg, allowing 70.4 ppg, and they make 36.1% from the field and 29.0% on 3s.

Grace Bradford leads LSSU scorers at 14.1 ppg and 9.4 rebounds a contest, making 84.4% on her free throws. Breah Golden is a close second in Lakers’ scoring at 13.7 ppg and also makes 84.6% on free throws.

The Wildcats are 68-38 all-time vs. Lake State, including winning each of the last eight. Last season, Northern prevailed 73-50 in Sault Ste. Marie and 76-49 in Marquette.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release previewing the games. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.