Northern Michigan University’s Reide Osterman, left, and Alyssa Hill, right, try to get the ball out of the hands of Michigan Tech’s Kendall Standfest during their GLIAC women’s basketball game played at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Thursday. Osterman is a Baraga High School graduate and Hill is a Negaunee High School grad. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — The women’s basketball team at Northern Michigan University didn’t pick up any ground on the leaders in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Thursday night, but they did something else nearly as important.

The Wildcats’ 68-57 victory over Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech guaranteed they will host a first-round quarterfinal game in the upcoming GLIAC Tournament to be held in about 10 days.

That because the Huskies were fourth-place NMU’s closest pursuer, and the win over them opens up a four-game lead with just three contests left to play in the regular season.

Northern improved to 13-4 in league games and 22-5 overall as MTU slipped to 9-8 and 15-10 while remaining in fifth. If the tournament matchups were determined after Thursday’s game, the Huskies would be coming back to Vandament Arena on Wednesday, March 4, for a Nos. 4-vs.-5 matchup.

But the Wildcats don’t have to give up on improving their position, trailing third-place Wayne State (14-3) by one game and second-place Ferris State (14-2) by a game and a half. No one will likely catch league leader Grand Valley State (16-1), which is still No. 3 in NCAA Division II even after WSU upset the Lakers for their only loss a couple weeks ago.

On Thursday in Marquette, Tech grabbed the lead in the latter stages of the opening quarter and held onto it until the final 20 seconds of the third.

But Northern’s well-timed 8-0 spurt to end quarter No. 3 produced a 51-47 edge for the home team entering the fourth.

The Huskies weren’t quite done yet, though. They tied the score 51-51 about 2 1/2 minutes into the final period and were still within two points, 59-57, with 2:03 remaining.

But that’s when NMU went on another end-of-the-quarter burst, finishing the game with a 9-0 blast to win by double digits.

After Addison Pytleski completed a traditional three-point play with her add-on free throw with 1:40 to go, teammates Sarah Newcomer, CJ Romero and Sydney Whitehouse combined to make 6 of 8 free throws in the final 42 seconds for the final margin.

Regular top scorer Jacy Weisbrod also led Northern on Thursday with 16 points, making four 3-pointers. Romero added 15 points with a trio of triples, 6 of 8 free throws, six rebounds, a team-high five assists and no turnovers in 27 minutes court time.

Pytleski added 11 points, hitting a pair of 3s and making two steals, while Whitehouse finished with nine points and six rebounds.

Negaunee product Alyssa Hill only managed four points, but she grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, while teammate Jordyn Schmittdiel snagged six rebounds and made two assists without scoring in just 14 minutes.

The Huskies shot considerably better than NMU, 44% to 32%, but Northern held the rebounding edge 42-35 and committed fewer turnovers, 16-10.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 20 in the country this week, have a tough road battle at 1 p.m. today when they travel to Big Rapids to take on second-place Ferris, which is 21-4 overall and ranked No. 16 nationally.

Northern then comes home to Vandament next week for two middle-of-the-pack opponents, hosting seventh-place Roosevelt at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and sixth-place Wisconsin-Parkside at 1 p.m. next Saturday to end the regular season.

NMU 68, Mich. Tech 57

Thursday at Vandament Arena

Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)

MICHIGAN TECH — Timms 5-2-17, Mason 4-2-10, Standfest 3-2-8, Wypych 2-0-4, Zentkowski 2-0-4, Kozlowska 4-0-8, Nuest 2-0-6. Totals 22-6-57.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — Weisbrod 6-0-16, Romero 3-6-15, Pytleski 4-1-11, Newcomer 2-3-8, Hill 2-0-4, Whitehouse 3-2-9, Walder 2-0-5. Totals 22-12-68.

Score by quarters:

Michigan Tech 19 19 9 10 — 57

Northern Michigan 12 20 19 17 — 68

FG shooting: Michigan Tech 22 of 50 (44 percent), NMU 22 of 68 (32.4 percent); 3-point shooting: Michigan Tech 7 of 19 (36.8 percent), NMU 12 of 36 (33.3 percent); FT shooting: Michigan Tech 6 of 8 (75 percent), NMU 12 of 15 (80 percent); Rebounding, Michigan Tech 35 (Kendall Standfest 9), NMU 42 (Alyssa Hill 10); Assists, Michigan Tech 13 (Soraya Timms 5), NMU 15 (CJ Romero 5); Steals, Michigan Tech 4 (Dani Nuest 2), NMU 7 (Sarah Newcomer 3); Turnovers, Michigan Tech 16, NMU 10.

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