After a home-opening loss the NMU women’s basketball team has bounced back in a big way rattling off three straight wins.
The ’Cats ran their win streak to three games with a 71-61 win on Sunday, Nov. 25 against Urbana at the Ashland Holiday Inn Classic.
NMU (3-1) stumbled out of the gates committing 15 turnovers and falling behind 32-28. Sophomore forward Maria Almquist said it wasn’t the start the team was looking for, but they rallied in the second half.
“It was a slow start for us but you can’t always come out with a big punch like you want to,” Almquist said. “We had a game (the day) before, maybe we were a little tired but the big thing was that we executed in the second half we came out and got a win.”
The Wildcats flipped the script in the second half, outscoring Urbana 43-29, while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and holding their opponent to 31.6 percent shooting.
NMU got a second half boost from their duo of sophomore guards Alyssa Colla and Lauren Gruber. They combined to score 27 while freshman center Nea Makela added 10 in the half to help the ’Cats pull away.
“To give us credit in the second half, we probably at one point outscored them by 15 points before they cut the lead back down,” said head coach Troy Mattson. “We played way more solid. I thought Alyssa Colla, Lauren Gruber and Nea were outstanding in the second half.”
The ’Cats also flexed their depth in the win, as their bench outscored Urbana 24-2. Gruber said the strong bench play makes it easier on the starting lineup.
“Everyone has the ability to score, so it’s nice having that kind of presence on the bench as well as the starting lineup” Gruber said. “You go as hard as you can because you know that someone is going to come in and just keep the pressure right up.”
Colla led the offense with 19 points, Makela chipped in 16 and Gruber added 13 points.
A strong second half saved the ’Cats against Urbana but it was a solid first half that lead to a 59-44 win over Mercyhurst on Saturday, Nov. 24.
NMU’s defense smothered the Mercyhurst offense holding them to 24 percent shooting while racing out to 32-14 lead. Mattson said the defense set the tone for the game.
“We played with a lot of energy on the defensive end,” Mattson said. “We had a lot of completed switching going on and the girls picked it up and did an incredible job of communicating to each other and we just stopped them, cold-stoned them and they didn’t have a chance to get anything going on the offensive end.”
Almquist and Makela paced the ’Cats with 10 points apiece. Gruber and sophomore forward Brooke Coenen each chipped in eight. Makela, who played overseas in Finland last year, finished the weekend with 26 points and 20 rebounds. Mattson said she is adjusting well to college basketball.
“Nea Makela had an incredible weekend for us, she really stepped to the forefront,” Mattson said. “She is going to be a major player for us and a major player in our league.”
Makela’s rebounding effort was part of a dominant performance on the glass for the ’Cats who outrebounded their opponents 99-47 over the two game stretch. Mattson said the team has focused on winning the battle of the boards.
“That’s what we’ve been talking about all year is rebounding the basketball to be successful and we have done an absolutely incredible job on the boards,” Mattson said.
The Wildcats kick off GLIAC play this weekend as they travel to Canton, Ohio. They take on Walsh University at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29 and at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1 they face Malone University.
