Newcomer scores 20 points, three others in double figures
CHICAGO – In one of the most dominant games over the last few years for the Northern Michigan women’s basketball team, the Wildcats led wire-to-wire in impressive fashion on Monday night in the Windy City, defeating the Roosevelt Lakers 90-52.
It was an offensive explosion for Northern. Averaging 64.9 points per game coming into the game, the 90 points set not only a new season-high, but was the highest team total since pouring in 93 points vs. Lake Superior State on January 10, 2019. The 38-point win tied the largest margin of victory for NMU this season, also coming against Lake Superior State.
It didn’t stop there for the ‘Cats, as they also set season-highs in assists (27), steals (13), and field goals made (33). It was Northern’s first game with 13+ steals in over 10 years (November 16, 2013 – 16 vs. Finlandia) and first game with as many assists over the last 20 seasons.
An 8-0 run to start the game set the tone for the Green and Gold. The Wildcats won every quarter and seized the second half, outscoring Roosevelt 56-27 over the final 20 minutes while shooting 19-32 (59.4%) from the field. Overall, the ‘Cats shot 33-68 (48.5%) and connected on 10 triples.
Leading the effort was Sarah Newcomer with 20 points. She scored 17 in the first half, connecting on five triples. Jacy Weisbrod (16), Alyssa Hill (14) and Sydney Whitehouse (10) also found double figures. Mackenzie Holzwart guided the offense with seven assists followed by Abi Fraaza at five. Eight ‘Cats recorded a steal, with CJ Romero leading the way with three.
With the victory, the Wildcats are now 19-7 overall and 13-5 in the GLIAC, tied with Ferris State in second place in the league standings. Two games ahead of Wayne State in the fifth seed at 11-7 with two games to play, NMU’s magic number to clinch postseason home court is now down to one.
How it Happened
The first quarter belonged to Newcomer. A floater and a pair of triples from the junior opened the scoring and quickly gave the Wildcats an 8-0 edge just over three minutes into the action. The Lakers started 0-4 from the floor and didn’t connect on their first shot until 4:26. Newcomer added another three for good measure, finishing the first with 11 points (3-3 from three) to give NMU a 20-12 lead.
Roosevelt responded in the second, scoring the first six to close the gap to two. The Wildcats fought back by bringing in the weapon of Newcomer back into the game. She’d hit two more threes, starting 5-5 from beyond the arc, to help NMU weather the run. Abi Fraaza added back-to-back layups to end the half as Northern led 34-25. The Wildcats assists on 13 of 14 made field goals through two quarters.
The floodgates opened up in the second half. An early 5-0 run and a 9-0 spurt later subtly pushed the lead higher and higher. Weisbrod and Whitehouse added two more threes in the final minute to lead 61-39 heading to the fourth after a dominant 27-14 edge in the third. Hill had 10 of her 14 in the third as Northern shot 10-19 (52.6%).
For as good as the third looked, the fourth may have just been better. Outscoring the Lakers 29-11 over the final 10 minutes, the Green and Gold made their first five shots and went 9-13 (69.2%) in the quarter. Plenty of work was also done at the charity stripe, going 9-12 (75.0%).
Up Next
The Wildcats will make a stop at Parkside on Thursday February 27 before traveling to Purdue Northwest on Saturday, March 1 for the regular season finale.
