W Basketball: NMU takes a split, Saginaw Valley up next
LOOKING AHEAD – NMU will be looking to put it all together down the final stretch of the season.
February 3, 2023
The ‘Cats took a weekend split, putting them at fourth place in the GLIAC with a 7-4 record in the conference this season. NMU held Lake State to just 12 points over the second and third quarters to coast to a 50-34 win over the Lakers. NMU guard Makaylee Kuhn led the team with 12 points, and freshman Sarah Newcomer added 10 points but was also able to grab four steals, one more than Lake State had combined.
“We started connecting, some people off the bench started contributing a little bit more,”Head Coach Casey Thousand said. “That helps a lot, and it relieves some of the stress of the starters putting in a ton of points when they’re already putting in a lot of minutes.”
The following game that took place at Ferris State was a different story, as cold shooting for the starting unit was a factor in the 55-72 loss. The bench scored 35 points, providing more than half of the total offense on the night for the Wildcats. Injuries were a problem as well with Taya Stevenson going out after just nine minutes of play.
“It gives other people opportunities and what they do with those opportunities, that’s up to them, but it’s gonna happen in games — you’re gonna have injuries,” Thousand said.
Newcomer had another great night despite the loss, adding a career high 20 points going 6-9 for three-point range. With such great play coming from the bench unit, the team is hoping to put it all together down the final stretch of the season. The starting unit led by Kuhn has shown flashes of top tier play and has the chance to go on a run.
NMU will be facing off against Saginaw Valley this week in a much-anticipated matchup. The Cardinals are a half game behind the Wildcats in the GLIAC standings, and with seven games left in the season, every win will be tough to get.
“Everyone’s playing for something and so you gotta keep going and each possession that you get, you gotta do your best to get some points out of it,” Thousand said. “On the other end, I think our defense is where it needs to be. We just got to get our offense flowing a little bit quick.”
