LIBERTY, Mo. – Lewis University's women's basketball team dropped its season opener to Northern Michigan 77-59 on Friday evening at the Mabee Center in Liberty, Missouri.
TEAM RECORDS
NMU (1-0) | Lewis (0-1)
LEWIS LEADERS
Points: Jenna Badali (Oak Lawn, Ill./Mother McAuley) (10), Shawnton Brown (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Central) (10), Grace Hilber (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) (10), Kathryn Schmidt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central) (10)
Rebounds: Schmidt (11)
Assists: Schmidt (3)
Steals: Hilber (3)
SUMMARY
Three minutes into the game, Lewis fell behind 8-0 early on. Hilber made the first field goal for the Flyers at the 6:23 mark. Finding themselves trailing by 10 points in the first, Lewis was able to cut the lead down to four by the end of the quarter after a Hilber 3-pointer and a layup by Badali.
Midway through the second quarter, Lewis was able to cut the lead to two after Schmidt no k managed to score back-to-back layups for the Flyers. The Wildcats extended their lead back to five after scoring a layup as time expired before halftime.
The Flyers finished the first half shooting 38.7 percent (12-for-31) from the field, were 2-of-9 from three (22.2 percent).
The third quarter was all in favor of NMU as the Wildcats started off the quarter on a 9-0 run and outscored Lewis by 11. The game quickly turned into a 16-point lead for the Wildcats by the end of three. The Flyers did end the quarter on a 7-2 run.
Down by as much as 23 in the third quarter, Lewis continued to fight in the fourth, cutting the lead down to 15 with 6:43 remaining.
The Flyers finished the game shooting 35 percent (22-for-63) from the floor, was 4-of-21 (19 percent) from behind the arc. Lewis forced Northern Michigan to commit 12 turnovers.
Northern Michigan was led by Mackenzie Holzwart who led all scorers with 21 points. Makalyee Kuhn chipped in with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Ana Rhude had 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Wildcats shot 46 percent (27-for-59) from the field and made 10 3-pointers on the night.
UP NEXT
Lewis is back in action on Saturday afternoon as the Flyers take on Michigan Tech starting at 1 p.m. (CST).
