Nimz, Hill combine for 30 points
DULUTH, Minn. – Alyssa Nimz scored a career-high 17 points to go along with nine rebounds while Alyssa Hill added 13 points and pulled down another nine boards to help power Northern Michigan past Minnesota Duluth 65-63 on Saturday afternoon in Romano Gymnasium. The Wildcats are now 5-0 on the season.
Both Alyssa’s shot 66.7% from the floor, with Nimz going 8-12 and Hill shooting 6-9. Jacy Weisbrod also found double figures with 12 points.
The Green and Gold hung around all game and finally took its first lead with less than five minutes before the final horn. Tied at 63-63, a Weisbrod jumper with seconds left rattled off, but Sarah Newcomer made the heroic, hustle play, crashing the offensive glass and getting a putback attempt that she was fouled on with less than a second left. Newcomer would hit both from the charity stripe to get NMU the victory and remain unbeaten.
The game was evenly played on each side. Both teams shot similarly from the floor, with NMU going 26-62 (41.9%) and UMD shooting 25-59 (42.4%). Each team also committed 11 turnovers, scored 34 points in the paint, added 16 points off turnovers, and recorded two blocks. Northern had the advantage on the glass, 40-32.
The Wildcats took a few minutes to get going in this one, missing its first six shots before a layup from Nimz got them on the board three minutes in. The Bulldogs broke out on a 7-0 run in the first frame, but the ‘Cats got five of the last seven to close its deficit to 15-9 after one. NMU shot just 25% (4-16) in the opening 10 minutes.
Weisbrod added the first two buckets of the second quarter and had a personal 6-0 run to get within two at 15-13. A nice sequence from the Alyssa’s followed, with Hill connecting on a layup, Nimz following with a block, and then being rewarded with a score of her own on the other end to tie the game at 17’s with 6:39 left in the half.
Duluth responded with its largest run of the game (11-0) to push its lead to double figures at 28-17. A Weisbrod three halted the run and ended a five-minute scoreless stretch for the Wildcats in which they went 0-7 from the floor. After starting 1-14 from beyond the arc, Weisbrod’s triple was followed by one from Holzwart to gain some momentum going into halftime, still trailing 30-23.
The second half opened with the sides exchanging sizable runs. Duluth scored the first five and Nimz followed with her own 7-0 spurt to make it 35-30 with 6:05 on the clock. UMD answered right back with a 7-0 run of its own, but the ‘Cats punched right back with eight straight. NMU held a slight 21-19 edge in the third, shooting over 50% (8-15, 53.3%).
Mackenzie Holzwart knocked down a corner three to open the scoring in the fourth quarter and make it a one score game at 49-47. A Hill jumper tied it at 49’s, the first deadlock since 17-17 in the second quarter. The Bulldogs scored eight of the next 10 to lead by six, but Northern stood its ground, taking the next eight to gain its first lead at 59-57 with 4:29 to play.
Hill knocked down the final field goal of the game with 26 seconds to play to regain a 63-62 lead. The Bulldogs then converted 1-2 at the free throw line with 19 seconds to tie it back up.
NMU played out the clock from there. A Weisbrod jumper rattled off, but enough time was left for Newcomer to crash the glass, gather the ball, and get fouled on her putback attempt. Her clutch free throws with 0.9 remaining left next to nothing for the Bulldogs to work with, as NMU battled for the two-point win.
Up Next
The Wildcats will head to St. Cloud State to take on the Huskies on Sunday, November 24 at 12 p.m. ET.
