Reagan Krueger has a double-double of 20 points and ten rebounds
WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. – Down 17-2 in the first quarter, the Northern Michigan women’s basketball team found a groove, outscoring the Lewis Flyers 83-59 the rest of the night en route to an 85-76 victory on Friday night.
The Wildcats grabbed their first lead at 28-26 in the second quarter and never looked back the rest of the night. The team excelled offensively, scoring over 20 points in each of the final three quarters after a slow start. NMU shot 28-60 (46.7%) from the field.
Leading the way was Raegan Krueger with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. She scored 10 points in the second quarter to help turn the game around. Sydney Whitehouse added 16 points and nine rebounds while Addison Pytleski and Addison Baumgart each chipped in 11. Baumgart was a perfect 3-3 from the three-point line and 4-4 from the field.
“It was a great team win, and everyone contributed,” said coach Casey Thousand. “It’s a game of runs, they came out hot, and it was a battle down the stretch. It was fun to see everyone touching the ball and moving it the way we did tonight.”
NMU was impressive moving the ball throughout the night, recording 19 assists. Pytleski had a career-high nine assists, while three others had more than one.
The Flyers had three in double figures, led by Mallory Ramage with 30 points.
How it Happened
Lewis jumped out to an early 10-0 lead as Northern Michigan struggled to find its offense, missing its first five shots before Jordyn Schmittdiel got the Wildcats on the board at the 6:19 mark. The Flyers extended their advantage to 17-2, but NMU began to find its rhythm from beyond the arc, knocking down a pair of threes to cut the deficit to 22-14 by the end of the first quarter.
The Wildcats came out attacking the paint in the second quarter, with Raegan Krueger converting an and-one to cap a 7-0 run and pull NMU within one at 24-23. Addison Baumgart followed with her second three-pointer of the half to tie the game at 26-26. Northern continued its surge with a 9-0 run, taking a 32-26 lead. Krueger scored 10 points in the quarter, while Baumgart went 3-for-3 from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. NMU outscored Lewis 22-12 in the second to take a 36-34 lead into halftime.
Northern maintained its offensive momentum coming out of the break, outscoring the Flyers 27-21 in the third quarter to extend its advantage to 10 points. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the period as the Wildcats continued to find success offensively and built a 63-55 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Wildcats maintained their advantage throughout the fourth, with Lewis unable to fully close the gap despite several comeback attempts. Baumgart connected on another three-pointer to push the lead to 73-62 with under five minutes remaining. Northern held off the Flyers down the stretch, scoring 22 points in the final quarter to secure the 85-76 victory.
Up Next
NMU will match up with Upper Iowa tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the Justagame Fieldhouse.
