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NMU Ladies Open 2023 With 77-62 Loss On Road
 Story courtesy of NMU Sports Information. Click the AUDIO buttons to hear comments from Coach Casey Thousand, and Alyssa Nimz's player spotlight interview MIDLAND, Mich. - Despite some notable individual performances, the NMU women's basketball team (8-5) fell 77-62 to Northwood (6-7) on Monday in the final non-conference meeting of the season. Elena Alaix went 8-14 from the floor for a game-high 19 points. Mackenzie Holzwart wasn't far behind with 14 points, adding 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Ana Rhude dominated the glass, pulling down 16 rebounds to go along with 11 points for a double-double. Northwood's leading scorer on the season, Makenzie Todd, scored 16 to lead the Timberwolves' attack. The three-point line was one of the key factors in the contest, where NMU went 3-14 (21.4%) while Northwood shot at a 50% clip (9-18). Turnovers also plagued the Wildcats, where they gave the ball up 19 times to just nine for Northwood. That led to 23 points off turnovers for the home team. In the first few minutes of action, the 'Cats didn't display any signs of being off for over two weeks, as Makaylee Kuhn, Mackenzie Holzwart, and Kayla Tierney all connected from the field to build an early 9-5 lead. The Timberwolves would flip the script in a big way over the middle stretch of the opening quarter, going on a 12-0 tear to leap ahead 17-9. Elena Alaix hit a baseline jumper to halt the run and proceeded to make another from the opposite corner as part of a 6-0 NMU run to get back into the game. NU's Makenzie Todd beat the first-quarter buzzer from beyond the arc to go ahead 22-15 after 10 minutes. Maddie Voelker hit two triples for 8 points to pace NU. The second quarter didn't see the runs the first quarter did, but rather more back-and-forth action. Northwood was able to keep building on its lead as it reached double-digits at 29-19 with 6:35 to go in the half. Elena Alaix led the Wildcats' offense in the first half, crossing double figures on an and-one to hit 11 points. She was the only Wildcat to find her rhythm early, however, as the Timberwolves carried a 39-26 edge into halftime. A dozen first-half turnovers plagued Northern into allowing 10 fast break points without getting any of their own. Tierney connected on her second triple of the afternoon to get things going in the second half. The Wildcats continued to attack the rim and get to the line, where they cut the deficit to seven halfway through the 3rd. NMU got it as low as five, but another buzzer-beating triple pushed it back to eight at 52-44 going to the final 10 minutes. Once the final quarter came around, the Timberwolves caused issues for NMU with their 2-2-1 press, resulting in several NMU mishaps. A 10-0 Northwood run pushed the lead to 17. Makenzie Todd scored nine of her team-high 16 points in the final frame to help put the finishing touches on a 77-62 victory over the 'Cats.
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