The NMU women’s basketball team faced a couple of aggressive teams this last weekend that were dependent upon free throws, proving the importance of accuracy at the line.
The Wildcats earned a win and also took a loss for the books on Thursday, Jan. 17 and Saturday, Jan. 19 as they faced Saginaw Valley University at home.
The lady ’Cats stepped up their game on Thursday, Jan. 17 with a 67-57 win over Saginaw Valley State University. The teams made it to the charity stripe a combined 39 times, where NMU shot 86 percent from the line for the win.
Coach Mattson said halftime during Thursday’s game brought about changes that helped the team achieve success.
“We made the decision to change the defense and not let them take over,” Mattson said. “We decided to double team.”
The game kicked off and Saginaw Valley took an early lead. By halfway into the first period, NMU was down 20-9. The ’Cats also got into foul trouble early on, giving the Cardinals 10 chances at the foul line, where they were 90 percent in the first half.
The Wildcats could not muster the energy to take the lead, and went into the locker room with a 24-30 deficit after the first period.
The Wildcats started off the second half with an inbounding play that opened up the backside for a wide open layup from sophomore guard Alyssa Colla.
From there, sophomore guard Lauren Gruber picked up a steal, and the ’Cats defensive change at half proved to be working. With 10:20 left in the game, NMU was only down by two after Colla put in a couple of free throws. Less than a minute later, sophomore forward Abbey DeBruin went up for a layup to tie the game at 45 and drew a foul. DeBruin sunk the free throw to put the Wildcats up by one, giving the girls an added fire to nab the win.
“We needed a little spark and an and-one is always good,” DeBruin said. “It was good news that we could play with them and grind out the tough game. I’m really proud of us.”
The game continued to go back and forth until the six minute mark when sophomore guard Sarah Miller sunk a three to take the lead by two. The Wildcats held the lead for the rest of the game, to finish with the 67-57 victory.
The girls took the floor again on Saturday, Jan. 19 to face Wayne State, the No. 3 team in the conference.
The Warriors opened the game with the first bucket at 16:52 on the clock, taking the first lead of the night 3-0. Gruber answered at 16:25 to tie the game at three. The game continued to go back and forth, and NMU left the court at half with a 25-22 lead.
The second half brought an aggressive game with some tough calls for the referees, and the ’Cats began to lose the intensity they had earlier.
Gruber said the competition was tough, and the calls were something they were going to have to get over in games.
“Wayne State is top of the conference, with good athletes and a smart coach,” Gruber said. “The reffing is sometimes hard to overcome when there are calls we disagree with, but that’s more of a mental thing and if we don’t get over that we won’t win any games.”
The Wildcats found themselves in some foul trouble with eight minutes to go, and Wayne State picked up twelve points off of free throws.
Mattson said the foul trouble, however, was not what hurt the team.
“We have a lot of bodies so it helps us that we have some depth,” Mattson said. “We just missed too many layups and free throws. You make those layups and free throws and there’s our game.”
In the end, Wayne State pulled ahead with a 63-59 victory over the ’Cats.
The girls travel at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24 to face Lake Superior State. They are back on the court at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26 to play Northwood.
