Wildcats held Chargers to 15 points between second and third quarters
ALLENDALE, Mich. – For the second straight season, the Northern Michigan women’s basketball team secured an NCAA Tournament victory, downing the Hillsdale Chargers 61-56 in the Midwest Region’s 3-6 matchup. The Wildcats advance to the Round of 32 and will take on the winner of No. 2 Ashland vs. No. 7 Ferris State on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Allendale.
It is the 15th time this season the Green and Gold defense allowed under 60 points. Trailing by as many as six in the opening quarter, NMU got back in it by locking in defensively, allowing just 15 points between the second and third quarters in which the Chargers shot 7-29 (24.1%). The ‘Cats never looked back after that.
“I trusted our defense and I think our team defense in that second and third quarter was really good,” said head coach Casey Thousand. “It took heart, energy, and effort today, and we needed a full team effort to get the job done.
As is the case come March, several ‘Cats made key contributions throughout the game. Mackenzie Holzwart led the way with 13 points with some key free throws down the stretch. She added eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Alyssa Hill recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Abi Fraaza also pulled down ten rebounds to go along with eight points. It is just the second time this season that two Wildcats reached 10 or more boards.
Alyssa Nimz scored nine points with five rebounds and a team-high three steals while Jacy Weisbrod scored a dozen and Sarah Newcomer blocked three shots.
The Wildcats shot 21-58 (36.2%) from the field and 7-26 (26.9%) from three. The Chargers were 20-63 (31.7%) overall and 7-33 (21.2%) from deep. After starting 5-6 from beyond the arc, HC missed 21 straight before finally connecting again with a minute to play. They were led by senior Lauren McDonald with 16 points.
At 23-8, Friday’s win is the 15th overall NCAA Tournament win for Northern Michigan, and the 11th in the opening round. The Wildcats will now have a chance to win multiple tourney games for just the fourth time in program history.
How it Happened
The Wildcats opened the game with second chance points, a jumper in the paint from Nimz off of a Holzwart offensive rebound. The Chargers offense started hot though, knocking down its first four threes and five of six to lead 15-11 halfway through the first.
Weisbrod answered with a triple out of a timeout, one of four on the game for her. A lot of back and forth ensued to end the first that saw seven lead changes, with the Chargers holding a 19-18 edge.
A stepback triple from Weisbrod gave Northern the advantage in the opening seconds of the second and the ‘Cats never trailed from there. NMU scored the first seven of the second to lead 25-19 at 7:30.
Neither side was able to score from 6:02 to 2:37 of the second, a quarter that saw just 19 points between the two sides. The ‘Cats led 31-25 at the break, going 11-32 (34.4%) in the half.
Northern stretched its lead to double-digits with the first five points out of halftime. Another three from Weisbrod capped off a 12-2 start as NMU held its largest lead of the game at 43-27 with 4:55 left in the third. Hillsdale answered with a 7-0 run and NMU maintained a 46-34 advantage heading to the fourth.
After a Holzwart three early in the final quarter, the Chargers scored six straight to make it 49-42 at 6:55. They dwindled it down to four with another 6-0 run minutes later, making it 54-50 with 3:09 left.
Back in off the bench, Fraaza made a clutch turnaround shot to end the Hillsdale run and go back up by six. After 21 straight misses from three, Hillsdale finally connected again to make it a one score game, 56-53, with 1:11 left.
With 40 seconds left, Holzwart made her first free throw and missed the second, but Fraaza again came up clutch by cleaning up the rebound and getting to the line. She converted both at the charity stripe to lead 59-53 with 39 seconds to go.
The Chargers banked in a three with 9.1 seconds left to again cut it to three, but Holzwart iced the game by going 2-2 at the free throw line in the closing seconds.
Up Next
The Wildcats will play the winner of Ashland vs. Ferris State on Saturday at 5 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16.
