This story was written by NMU Sports Information

ALLENDALE, Mich. - In the second round of the Women's Basketball NCAA Tournament Saturday night, the Ashland Eagles defeated the Northern Michigan Wildcats, 68-45, ending Northern's season at 23-9. 

Northern only held the lead for 29 seconds in the game, a 3-2 margin in the opening minute. The Wildcats had issues with the second-best defense in the nation, scoring a season-low 45 points while shooting 31.4% from the field. 

NMU was led by senior Mackenzie Holzwart with nine points while Sarah Newcomer also had nine. 

The Wildcats close the season with a 23-9 record. It was another notable campaign for the Green and Gold, as they have improved their win total and record in each of their three seasons under Thousand and made the Round of 32 in back-to-back seasons. 

Sarah Newcomer knocked down a stepback three for a brief 3-2 Wildcat lead, but the Eagles answered with a 9-0 run to lead 11-3 just over four minutes into the game. Alyssa Hill added a pair of shots late in the quarter, but Ashland held a 17-10 lead after 10 minutes. NMU shot 4-13 (30.8%) to AU's 6-11 (54.5%). 

On the opening possession of the second, Alyssa Nimz connected on a tough hook shot to close the deficit to five. The sides exchanged the first six buckets until Ashland forced an NMU timeout with a mini 4-0 run while leading 26-16 at 4:29. The Eagles outscored the 'Cats 12-7 in the quarter and led 29-17 at the break.

Northern shot 3-13 (23.1%) in the second and 7-26 (26.9%) for the half. Hill led the Wildcats with five in the first half while Zoe Miller's 12 points paced Ashland. 

It took over two minutes for either side to score in the third, with Ashland's Miller continuing her productive game with a three. Weisbrod answered for NMU on the other end of the floor and Newcomer hit her second three, but the Eagles continued to hold a double-digit lead halfway through the quarter, 39-22.

The 'Cats scored four straight, but points were tough to come by against one of the best defenses in the nation. Ashland led 41-26 heading to the fourth. 

Ashland scored the first seven of the fourth to lead by 22 and NMU was never able to fully get back in it as the Eagles advanced to the Sweet 16.