Women's Basketball Wins 78-72 Over Wayne State In Overtime

OVERVIEW – WAYNE STATE

SCORE:  Northwood Timberwolves 78, Wayne State Warriors 72 (OT)
RECORDS: Northwood (12-15, 9-10 GLIAC), Wayne State (13-14, 8-11 GLIAC)
LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.
RECAP: Northwood grinds out 78-72 overtime win against Wayne State (February 23), clinching a spot in the upcoming GLIAC Tournament.

FIRST QUARTER

• Northwood came out of the gates strong with 11 of the first 17 points five minutes into the first.
• The Timberwolves were able to increase their edge to 18-10 after the opening period
• Northwood shot 47.1 percent from the field (8-17), including 50 percent from three-point range (2-4).
• Wayne State shot 18.2 percent on their attempts (2-11), missing both of their shots from behind the arc (0-2).

SECOND QUARTER

• Wayne State brought the lead down to six mid-way through the second.
• The Warriors continued to chip away, bringing Northwood's edge down to 30-25 by halftime.
• NU struggled in the period shooting, going 28.6 percent of their shots from the floor (4-14) while missing both of their three-point attempts (0-2).
• Wayne State stepped up in the second on the offensive end, making 50 percent of their shots from the field (7-14), including 33.3 percent of their attempts from three-point land (1-3).

THIRD QUARTER

• WSU continued their momentum and posted a 12-3 run to take a 37-33 lead halfway through the third.
• Northwood bounced back later in the quarter, eventually taking a 49-48 lead heading to the final quarter.
• The Timberwolves shot 38.3 percent from the field (5-13), including 25 percent from behind the arc (1-4).
• The Warriors sunk 47.4 percent of their overall shots (9-19), including 42.9 percent of their three-point attempts (3-7).

FOURTH QUARTER

• Each team traded the lead multiple times to begin the final quarter, with Wayne State holding a slim 55-54 edge at the mid-way point.
• The game continued to stay tight down the stretch, with neither team able to build a lead bigger than two.
• Both teams had one final possession to take the lead but were unable to convert, sending the game to overtime tied 63-63.
• Northwood ended regulation shooting 29.4 percent on their attempts from the field (5-17), including 11.1 percent from three-point range (1-9).
• Wayne State drained 50 percent of their shots (6-12). They did not attempt a three-point shot.

OVERTIME

• The Timberwolves came alive in the first OT, scoring the first seven points to take a 70-63 lead halfway through the extra session. That proved to be the difference in the game.
• NU were a perfect 100% on their overall attempts (4-4), making both of their three-point attempts (2-2). W
• SU made 37.5 percent of their shots (3-8), including 25 percent of their three-point tries (1-4).

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Wayne State .422 (27-64), Northwood .400 (26-65)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Wayne State .294 (5-17), Northwood .286 (6-21)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Wayne State .813 (13-16), Northwood .741 (20-27)
• REBOUNDS: Wayne State 45 (16 offensive), Northwood 36 (14 offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Wayne State 9/25, Northwood 13/13

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Grace German: 22 points, 14 rebounds (ninth career double-double, fourth in the last six games)
• Kenzie Seeley: 22 points (career-high), six assists
• Ellie Taylor: 19 points

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• This marks the sixth straight and ninth time in the last 11 years the Timberwolves have reached the GLIAC Tournament. Prior to that, Northwood had never reached the event.

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will host Saginaw Valley State Thursday (February 28) in the regular season finale. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.