Newcomer leads with 14 points
WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. – The Northern Michigan women’s basketball team used a 19-9 first quarter to create a lead against the Lewis Flyers and would hold on down the stretch for a 53-48 victory to start the season 2-0 at the Midwest Region Tip-Off Tournament.
The Wildcats never trailed in the contest and held an advantage on the glass for the second straight night, 41-30. The defense for the Green and Gold remained stingy, holding its second consecutive opponent below 50 points with sub-35% shooting. It was the fourth straight win for NMU over Lewis and the first time the Flyers have been held under 50 points since the 2021-22 season.
Sarah Newcomer led the offense with 14 points and a 4-8 clip from beyond the arc. CJ Romero added 10 points, all in the second half, while Alyssa Nimz contributed 11 rebounds and six points, and Alyssa Hill nine points and five boards.
Nimz got the ‘Cats started with a nifty and-one in the first minute. A three-point barrage followed, with Newcomer, Kayla Tierney, and Sydney Whitehouse all connecting from downtown for a 9-0 run to lead 12-2 just four minutes into the game. The Wildcats would lead 19-9 after 10 minutes and force the Flyers into eight first quarter turnovers.
The ‘Cats got the first five in the second quarter, including a Newcomer triple at 9:02, that made the score 24-9, the largest differential of the night. The Flyers battled back with a couple triples of their own, but Newcomer beat the halftime horn from downtown to lead 34-21.
Romero scored seven of NMU’s 12 points in the third. Lewis finally cut the gap to single digits with a layup with 24 seconds left in the third, 46-37. From the 4:02 mark in the first quarter, the Wildcats maintained a double-digit lead, but no more than 15 until that Lewis bucket, a near 24-minute stretch of playing with a lead between 10 and 15.
Lewis closed the gap to seven with the first bucket in the fourth, but another clutch three from Newcomer pushed the lead back to 10.
That three would prove pivotal, as it was the only field goal the ‘Cats would make in the frame. NMU missed its final seven shots and the Flyers closed the gap to three in the final seconds, but Nimz and Romero made free throws in the final seconds to clinch the victory.
The Wildcats shot 17-51 (33.3%) from the floor while Lewis was 18-53 (34.0%). NMU connected on eight threes, doubling up Lewis’ total of four. Northern also recorded all four blocks in the game, coming from four different players.
Up Next
The Wildcats will make its home regular season debut in the new Vandament Arena on Friday, November 15 when they play host to Minnesota Crookston at 3 p.m.
