The Wildcats host last-place Purdue Northwest at 5:30 p.m. today at Vandament Arena before hosting second-place Wayne State at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The games will be streamed online at FloCollege and available on radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point. Fans can also follow @NMU_WBBall on Instagram and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly Twitter) for updates leading up to and during games, or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the women’s basketball schedule for links to ticket information, live video, live statistics and a preview.

At 15-3 overall and 6-2 in the league, national No. 16 NMU is tied with No. 19 Ferris State for third place. Wayne State (12-4 overall) is a game ahead of them at 7-1, while undefeated and No. 1 Grand Valley State still leads the pack with perfect 8-0 league and 16-0 overall records.

The national rankings are from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Northern Michigan University’s Sarah Newcomer, center, extends to put up a layup during a GLIAC game played against Ferris State at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Jan. 12. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Purdue NW, meanwhile, is struggling at 3-13 overall and 1-7 in the league, tied with Lake Superior State for 10th place. But the Pride is just one game out of the eighth and final spot for the upcoming GLIAC Tournament to be played in early March.

After this weekend, conference teams will be at the halfway point of the conference schedule, with another matchup against every GLIAC opponent still to come.

Last week, Northern went on the road and defeated LSSU 80-61 and now eighth-place Saginaw Valley State 67-51 to improve from fourth place to their current tie for third after Ferris lost at home to Grand Valley 88-59 on Monday.

NMU, averaging 72.2 points per game while allowing 61.0, is among the best in several NCAA Division II categories. The Wildcats are No. 1 in the GLIAC and third lowest nationally with 12.2 turnovers per game, while they are also second in the league and 14th in the country in 3-point percentage at 36.0%.

Redshirt freshman Jordyn Schmittdiel shone in both wins and was named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week. Despite averaging less than 16 minutes playing time per game, she grabbed 10 rebounds and scored five points in each game while averaging two steals per contest.

Despite playing exactly 15 minutes per game in GLIAC outings, Schmittdiel is 10th in rebounding at 7.1 per game in those contests.

Top scorer Jacy Weisbrod leads the nation in 3-pointers made with 3.39 per game while ranking second in the league with a 40.7% success rate on those shots.

And she’s the GLIAC’s leading scorer at 16.9 ppg, though just 12th at 12.9 ppg when looking at league games only.

Teammate Sarah Newcomer averages 10.4 ppg and CJ Romero is second in the conference with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio and fifth with 3.9 assists per game.

Alyssa Hill, a Negaunee High School graduate, is tied for fourth in the GLIAC in rebounding at 7.5 per game.

Looking at Purdue NW, the Pride are on a five-game losing streak, falling to Roosevelt and Wisconsin-Parkside last week. Averaging 62.1 ppg and allowing 78.8 — last in the GLIAC with that defensive number — PNW is led by Alyssa Cole at 13.9 ppg and 7.1 rebounds a contest.

Wayne State is just ahead of the Wildcats in scoring at 74.9 ppg, which also ranks third in the GLIAC, while giving up 66.0 ppg. They are also the league leaders in 3-point success, hitting 36.9% to also rank eighth in the nation.

The Warriors’ McKenna Ferguson is third in scoring in the conference at 16.3 ppg, while Taylor Thompson is 11th at 14.0 ppg and Gabi Lutchka 12th at 13.9 ppg. Thompson is also third in rebounding at 7.6 per game, while Ferguson is No. 1 by making 46.1% of her 3s and third with 2.8 steals per outing.

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.