14-0 run in second half paced by three Newcomer triples
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Trailing 39-36 in the second half, Sarah Newcomer knocked down three consecutive triples in just 54 seconds as part of a 14-0 run to lift the Northern Michigan women’s basketball team to a 63-52 victory over St. Cloud State on Sunday afternoon.
It may have been the middle of the day in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but Newcomer was lights out, tying a career-high with six triples on just eight attempts (75.0%) for a season-high and game-high 22 points. She also paced all players with five assists while tacking on four rebounds and a pair of steals.
After scoring 17 points with nine rebounds yesterday, Alyssa Nimz rounded out her impressive weekend with 16 points and nine more boards. Jacy Weisbrod also found double figures, chipping in a dozen on four threes.
The Wildcats shot 23-56 (41.1%) from the field while the Huskies were 21-57 (36.8%). Northern made its mark beyond the arc, going 12-27 (44.4%) while holding SCSU to just a 4-14 (28.6%) clip. NMU forced the Huskies into 17 turnovers while five ‘Cats accounted for a season-high eight steals. St. Cloud held a 41-31 edge on the glass.
The Huskies opened the game with eight straight points, connecting on each of its first three shot attempts. The Wildcats responded with the next seven, but shot just 4-17 (23.5%) in the first quarter, trailing 12-9 after 10 minutes.
From there, Northern shot nearly 50% the rest of the way, going 19-39 (48.7%) over the final three quarters.
The ‘Cats connected on four triples in the second quarter, with Weisbrod’s second of the frame coming in the final seconds to lead 27-24 at the break. Northern forced St. Cloud into 13 turnovers in the game’s first 20 minutes.
St. Cloud mustered seven straight early in the second half to lead 37-32. With NMU trailing 39-36 as the third quarter approached the three minute mark, the game flipped. Newcomer knocked down three straight triples on consecutive possessions and Nimz added another before the quarter ended to quickly make it a 12-0 run.
Nimz scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter to cap off the dominating four-minute stretch with 14 unanswered points and lead 50-39.
The Green and Gold would hit a trio of shots from beyond the arc in the last quarter and remain locked down defensively to take the 63-52 road victory.
The Wildcats are now 6-0 on the season while handing the Huskies its first loss at 3-1.
Up Next
The Wildcats will take its perfect 6-0 record into Thanksgiving break, as Northern will next be in action on Thursday, December 5 when the ‘Cats host Purdue Northwest to open GLIAC play.