The women of the NMU basketball team have started the season off on a hot start, undefeated through five games. Two of those wins came over the weekend, taking on Upper Iowa and Lewis both in the Wisconsin Dells.
The team is currently ranked in the top 15, coming in at No. 15, while both Upper Iowa and Lewis are unranked.
First, the team took on Upper Iowa, taking the team out and ending the game at the final buzzer 95-40.
“Everybody is stepping up, and we have different people who are either grabbing rebounds or doing what they need to do for us to get the win. That’s really what it’s about. It’s the team effort and it’s everybody,” Head Coach Casey Thousand said.
In the first quarter, the team came out of the gates swinging, outsourcing Upper Iowa 31-11. Following the first quarter performance, the Cats were unstoppable the remainder of the game.
A few standout Wildcats from the monsterous win over Upper Iowa were sophomore forward Madison Schroeder, coming out of the win with 10 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Jacy Weisbrod ended the game with 22 points, along with one rebound and two assists. Sophomore forward Ava Bates racked up seven points and two rebounds.
“They’re really buying in to what we’re doing on concepts of both offensively and defensively, and what we need to do to succeed.” Thousand said.
Coming off the huge win the Wildcats shifted their focus and prepared to take on Lewis. Again, the Wildcats found success, coming away with the win 66-54, a closer game than the one before.
This time the Wildcats had to fight for every basket and rally for the win.
This game saw solid performances from forward Alyssa Hill, who ended the game with 13 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Joining Hill in the Lewis game was senior guard Reide Osterman, coming away from the win with five points, two rebounds, and two assists. Guard sophomore Addison Pytleski earned eight points and three rebounds in the win. Finally, senior guard Sarah Newcomer scored 16 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
“We still have a lot of things to fix and a lot of things to to get really good at, at the same time, it’ really fun when you make shots… our team is working really hard and they’re ready,” Thousand said.
Next, the team will open up their home gym as the team is set to make their season debut at home this Thursday.
This week the team will play on both Thursday and Friday here at home. First, the team will take on St. Cloud State on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Following the St. Cloud game the team will host Minnesota Duluth on Friday, also at 5:30 p.m.
“They both have really good post players. Our team defense is going to be huge,” Thousand said of the upcoming games.
