A Strong Start for Northwood Women’s Basketball

Good basketball teams find a way to win close games at home against quality opponents. And right now, Northwood’s women are finding a way again and again. In a battle of conference unbeatens, the Timberwolves dominated the fourth quarter Saturday to turn a nail-biter into a decisive 76-62 victory over visiting Walsh.

NU improves to 9-4 overall and 5-0 in the GMAC after outscoring the Cavaliers (8-5, 4-1) by a 26-13 count in the final period. Northwood is off to its best start in conference play in program history.

Timberwolves’ coach Autumn Haggadone was pleased to see her team excel despite a rare off-game by star center Lea Holmes, who was limited to six points on 1-of-7 shooting from the floor.

“Home games are huge for us. This season, we know we have a different type of target painted on our back, so we’re going to see everyone’s best game,” Haggadone said, adding of the Cavaliers, “I thought they played really, really well. They had a really good defensive plan for Lea in the post. She basically got triple-teamed.

“But I was proud of some other players for stepping up and hitting some big shots for us,” she added.

Game Highlights

Northwood bolted out to a quick 10-2 lead behind a 3-pointer and a driving layup by Lexie Bowers, a 3-pointer by Alexa Kolnitys, and a transition bucket by Holmes, but Walsh ran off the next eight points to tie it at 10-10.

The Cavs went on to make it a 14-2 run overall to take a 16-12 lead, but the Timberwolves scored the final five points of the quarter. Ella Miller’s cutting layup in the final seconds gave NU a 17-16 edge heading into the quarter break.

Northwood opened the second quarter with layups by Grace Isenhath and Maeve St. John to make it 21-16, but Walsh went on another 8-0 spurt to take a 24-21 lead before Kolnitys stopped the run with another triple.

A few minutes later, the Timberwolves regained the lead, 33-29, on a 3-pointer by Maelyn McNealy and a pair of free throws by Holmes. NU went on to carry a 39-34 lead into halftime, as St. John ended the quarter with a 3-pointer.

Walsh opened the third quarter with seven consecutive points to go up 41-39, but NU countered with a driving layup by Karie Keefer and a post bucket by Miller to regain the lead, 43-41. Both teams really struggled to score for the remainder of the period, and the Timberwolves eventually took a 50-49 edge into the fourth.

That’s when Northwood came alive.

The Timberwolves put together a 13-6 run on a runner by McNealy, five points off the dribble-drive by St. John, and a 3-pointer apiece by Bowers and Keefer to extend to a 63-55 lead.

NU later stretched the lead to double digits, 71-59, on a pull-up jumper by Isenhath and a driving layup by Keefer to put the game out of reach.

“I think that’s what makes our team special, and we need to see that more,” Haggadone said of her team’s balanced scoring. “It’s not just Maeve (St. John) and Lea (Holmes). We have a large cast of people who can make shots and do good things. … It was definitely a team win today.”

Defensive Strength and Key Performances

Northwood’s defense forced 20 turnovers, and the Timberwolves outscored the Cavs 31-17 in points off of turnovers. NU also had a big advantage at the foul line, making 16 of 20 free throws to Walsh’s 3 of 7.

“I think defensive stops (in the second half) were huge,” said Haggadone. “They had a lot of easy buckets in the first half inside the paint and from 3, but I thought our defense turned into offense (in the second half).

“Defensive stops were big, and taking away their 3’s and boxing out and making them go one-and-done was big, too,” she added.

St. John led the Timberwolves with 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals, while Keefer had 14 points, Bowers had 10 points and three steals, Isenhath finished with eight points, and Kolnitys added seven points.

Kiley Dyrlund led Walsh with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and six steals, while Sami Kim added 13 points.

Northwood will host Malone, another team which entered Saturday at 4-0 in the GMAC, on Monday at 5:30 p.m.