Northern Michigan University’s Alyssa Hill, right, makes a move to get past Michigan Tech defender Maja Kozlowska to get her shot during their GLIAC game played at Vandament Arena in Marquette last Thursday. Hill is a Negaunee High School graduate. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — Momentum will likely be the big word coming from the mouths of coaches and players on the women’s basketball team at Northern Michigan University with the final week of the regular season starting this afternoon at Vandament Arena.

The Wildcats host seventh-place Roosevelt at 5:30 p.m. today and sixth-place Wisconsin-Parkside at 1 p.m. Saturday at home.

NMU is just about locked into the No. 4 seed for next week’s Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, meaning it will remain at Vandament to host the No. 5 seed in the first-round quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Right now, that would be Upper Peninsula rival and current No. 5 seed Michigan Tech, but with Parkside one game back and Roosevelt two games in arrears of the Huskies, it’s also possible one of this week’s opponents could make the return trip to Marquette quicker than most anybody would’ve thought.

The Wildcats are No. 22 in the nation, 22-6 overall, 13-5 in the GLIAC and in fourth place, two games behind Wayne State at 15-3. Even if Northern caught up, the Warriors likely have a tiebreaker after the teams split their games and Wayne State has a victory over league leader Grand Valley State that NMU does not.

Northern dumped MTU 68-57 at home last Thursday before falling at second-place Ferris State 80-68 on Saturday.

This Saturday’s game will also be Senior Day, recognizing five players who will depart after this season — Sarah Newcomer, Reide Osterman, CJ Romero, Alyssa Hill and Jacy Weisbrod. Osterman is a Baraga High School graduate and Hill a Negaunee product.

These games can be heard live on Marquette 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 throughout the weekend, or visit the Northern 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.

Weisbrod remains No. 1 in NCAA Division II with her 3.43 made 3-pointers each game, with her 96 total triples also leading the way and ranking second when including Division I and III players.

Newcomer has made an impressive 69 treys, ranking top 30 nationally in makes and shooting percentage on those shots.

And Romero has a GLIAC-leading 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, with her 4.3 assists per game second, while Hill is No. 4 in the league at 7.4 rebounds per game.

As a team, NMU’s 11.8 turnovers an outing is second fewest in the nation, while its 1.22 assist-to-turnover ratio is 10th.

Looking at this week’s opponents, Roosevelt split last week, falling at red-hot Wayne State 94-73 but beating Purdue Northwest 87-61 to stand at 8-17 overall and 7-11 in the GLIAC. Marie Outlay averages team highs of 12.9 ppg and 6.9 rebounds a contest.

NMU won a narrow 83-82 decision in Chicago at Roosevelt back on Dec. 6.

Parkside is 13-13 overall and 8-10 in the conference with a recent 77-65 win over Purdue NW. Katie Hamill averages 14.0 ppg and Cassidy Arni 13.9 to make a good 1-2 punch, while teammate Lillie Petersen grabs 7.7 rebounds a game for third in the league.

Northern won 56-48 in a defensive battle in Kenosha, Wisconsin, against the Rangers on Dec. 4.

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.