Women's Basketball Earns Dramatic 96-90 Overtime Win Over No. 8 Michigan Tech

MIDLAND, MICH. – The Northwood University women's basketball team earned a 96-90 overtime win over No. 8 Michigan Tech Thursday night (February 19).

Northwood is now 17-9 overall, 13-7 in the GLIAC after winning five of the last six games. The Timberwolves snapped a 13 game winning-streak for the Huskies that are now 22-2 overall and 18-2 in the GLIAC. MTU also came into this game being ranked No. 1 in the Midwest region.

It seemed as though neither team could miss in the opening half that saw both teams finishing at over fifty percent from the floor. Northwood scored on four of the first five possessions to take an early 12-9 lead at the 16:00 mark. The Huskies then went on an 11-0 run to pull ahead 20-12 with 13:47 to go. NU fought back, cutting the lead to just three (29-26) at 7:02 but MTU would end up taking a 47-39 advantage into the locker room.  Michigan Tech connected on 8-14 from beyond the arc in the first half, compared to 2-4 for the Timberwolves. NU shot 53.6 percent (15-28) from the floor, while MTU shot 56.7 percent (17-30).

Northwood opened up the second half with an 8-2 run, cutting the lead back to three (50-47). After being tied at 61, 65 and 69 Michigan Tech scored the next eight points to take a 77-69 lead with 1:59 to go in regulation. From that point on, Freshman Maddy Seeley (Alma, Mich.) took the game into her own hands to knock down two three-pointers making it a two point game (77-75) with 0:37 remaining. Michigan Tech would call a timeout to draw up a play but Northwood's defense was on high-alert and caused a missed layup that was rebounded by senior Sarah Susan (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Byron Center). Susan pushed the ball down the court with nine seconds to go before dumping off a pass to sophomore Emily Kutch (Freeport, Mich. / Lakewood) in the corner. With 0:02 on the clock, Kutch's jumper went through the net sending the game into overtime.

With an intense environment and a packed student section, the Timberwolves continued momentum into overtime. NU led by as many as eight in the overtime period before finishing with a 96-90 victory over the No. 8 team in the country. Northwood shot 10-11 from the foul line to seal the deal in overtime.

For the game, the Timberwolves finished at 50.0 percent overall (33-66) while Michigan Tech finished at 45.1 percent (32-71). Both teams connected on seven 3-pointers (NU-7, MTU-12). The key to the contest proved to be the foul line, where Northwood went 23-24 (95.7 percent) compared to Findlay at 14-22 (63.6 percent). Northwood's bench also played a key role, out-scoring the Huskies 27-9.

Four Timberwolves finished in double figures, led by Seeley who finished with 24 points including 5-7 from the three-point range. Gabrielle Rivette (Fenton, Mich.) went 9-10 from the foul line before finishing with 18, while Jordyn Nurenberg (St. Johns, Mich.) came off the bench to score 16 points. Sarah Susan recorded 12 points and her sister Kaitlin Susan (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Byron Center) grabbed 11 rebounds to go with six points.

Northwood will host Northern Michigan on Saturday (February 21). Game time is set for 1 p.m.