Wildcat Women Grind Out Two Tight Wins In Dells

These stories were written by NMU Sports Information.

Click the AUDIO buttons to hear RRN interviews from both games with Coach Casey Thousand. (NMU Photo)

SATURDAY GAME RECAP

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. - The Northern Michigan women's basketball team used a 19-9 first quarter to create a lead against the Lewis Flyers and would hold on down the stretch for a 53-48 victory to start the season 2-0 at the Midwest Region Tip-Off Tournament.

The Wildcats never trailed in the contest and held an advantage on the glass for the second straight night, 41-30. The defense for the Green and Gold remained stingy, holding its second consecutive opponent below 50 points with sub-35% shooting. It was the fourth straight win for NMU over Lewis and the first time the Flyers have been held under 50 points since the 2021-22 season.

Sarah Newcomer led the offense with 14 points and a 4-8 clip from beyond the arc. CJ Romero added 10 points, all in the second half, while Alyssa Nimz contributed 11 rebounds and six points, and Alyssa Hill nine points and five boards.

Nimz got the 'Cats started with a nifty and-one in the first minute. A three-point barrage followed, with Newcomer, Kayla Tierney, and Sydney Whitehouse all connecting from downtown for a 9-0 run to lead 12-2 just four minutes into the game. The Wildcats would lead 19-9 after 10 minutes and force the Flyers into eight first quarter turnovers.

The 'Cats got the first five in the second quarter, including a Newcomer triple at 9:02, that made the score 24-9, the largest differential of the night. The Flyers battled back with a couple triples of their own, but Newcomer beat the halftime horn from downtown to lead 34-21.

Romero scored seven of NMU's 12 points in the third. Lewis finally cut the gap to single digits with a layup with 24 seconds left in the third, 46-37. From the 4:02 mark in the first quarter, the Wildcats maintained a double-digit lead, but no more than 15 until that Lewis bucket, a near 24-minute stretch of playing with a lead between 10 and 15.

Lewis closed the gap to seven with the first bucket in the fourth, but another clutch three from Newcomer pushed the lead back to 10.

That three would prove pivotal, as it was the only field goal the 'Cats would make in the frame. NMU missed its final seven shots and the Flyers closed the gap to three in the final seconds, but Nimz and Romero made free throws in the final seconds to clinch the victory.

The Wildcats shot 17-51 (33.3%) from the floor while Lewis was 18-53 (34.0%). NMU connected on eight threes, doubling up Lewis' total of four. Northern also recorded all four blocks in the game, coming from four different players.

FRIDAY'S GAME RECAP

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. - The Northern Michigan women's basketball team needed extra time in its first game of the season, but emerged victorious 48-46 over the Thomas More Saints to start 1-0.

Tied 42-42 after four quarters, NMU got the first four points of extra time and didn't trail after. The Saints appeared to tie the game as the final horn sounded in overtime, but review deemed the shot was late, leading to the Wildcat victory.

Jacy Weisbrod led the way with 11 points and added eight rebounds while Alyssa Hill chipped in 10 points to go along with nine boards. All ten 'Cats that played scored, including three freshmen recording their first collegiate points (Madison Schroeder, Sydney Whitehouse, and Addison Pytleski).

The Wildcats struggled shooting the ball, going just 17-61 (27.9%) while the Saints didn't fare much better, converting on 19-63 (30.2%). NMU held a 48-44 edge on the glass and recorded nine blocks, led by four from freshman Madison Schroeder.

Sarah Newcomer got the game started with a nifty Euro Step layup off of the opening tip and Weisbrod followed shortly after for a quick 5-0 advantage. The Saints scored the next five to tie. NMU trailed 10-6 with just under four minutes left in the quarter and would flip the script, going on a 15-0 run that stretched into the second quarter to lead 21-10. The Wildcat defense held Thomas More on a scoreless stretch of nearly 10 minutes in which they were an empty 0-14.

The Green and Gold led 24-16 at intermission, with each side shooting sub-30% in the second quarter. NMU dominated the glass in the first, 29-18.

Leading 29-18 in the third, NMU would hit a cold spell of their own. On a nearly identical 10-minute stretch that went into the next quarter, the Wildcats were without a field goal while going 0-13 in that stretch. The run for the Saints was 15-1 to lead 33-30 with seven minutes to play.

NMU went to the paint to end the run, getting three straight layups from Schroeder and Hill (x2). The Saints scored the next five to regain the lead 38-36 with less than three minutes left, but a key triple from Weisbrod with less than a minute to play evened the score at 40's ahead of going to extra time at 42-42.

Hill scored the first four in overtime and a Newcomer jumper with 90 seconds left proved to be all NMU needed in a defensively-dominated affair.