Negaunee, MI – December 10th, 2021 – The Negaunee Miners lost their first game of the season to the Houghton Gremlins 65-56 and take their record to 3-1 for the 2021-2022 campaign. Carl Leander Johnson had the call live in Negaunee on Sunny 101.9.
1st Quarter: Alyssa Hill scored the first points of the game driving to the lane to make a contested shot. Houghton’s Meghan Trewhella and Stella Wickstrom would both answer with driving shots of their own to put the Gremlins on top 4-2. The Miner girls would go on a 10-2 run over the course of the next three minutes. Ella Mason drives in for the paint causing the defense to collapse and hits Hill in the corner for a wide open 3 pointer. Emily Gauthier had a nice pump fake that sent her defender flying as she drove into the paint for a nice floater into the net for 2 points. Hill put a real show racking up 4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in the game’s first 6 minutes and giving the Miners a 12-6 lead. Trewhella and Rachel Bigelow would end the first quarter with a pair of field goals to cut the Negaunee lead to 2 points.
End of 1st: Negaunee Miners 14, Houghton Gremlins 12
2nd Quarter: Negaunee and Houghton would open up the second period in a real dogfight. Each team scraping for points. Summer Dudo had an amazing half court pass assist to Hill in the paint. Negaunee took the lead 17-16 in the second quarter after Hill hit one of her two free throws with about 4 minutes left in the first half. The Gremlins, however, would start a devastating 15-2 run with Annika Peterson’s 3-pointer with 3:30 minutes to play in the second quarter. Two more 3-pointers from Bigelow and Trewhella, coupled with a slew of offensive rebounds gave the momentum needed for Houghton to sustain the run. Negaunee Miners ended the first half with the game starting to slip away.
End of 2nd: Negaunee Miners 21, Houghton Gremlins 31
3rd Quarter: The Miner Girls had an uphill battle to fight coming out of the break. Houghton was able to increase their lead to 40-25 in their aggressive hurry up offense that Negaunee could not stop. Mason responded with a beautiful drive and euro-step combination for a tough 2 point shot. Lilly Nelson hit a nothing but net 3-pointer to bring the deficit to 10 points. Just as quickly as the Miner girls were catching up, it seemed like the Gremlins always had an answer. Peterson hit a 3-pointer on the next possession. Negaunee’s Madison Smith would sub in to give another spark to the team. She would hit a 3-pointer right after being called in and then on the ensuing possession come up with a steal that would hit Mason for an easy 2 point field goal. The third quarter came to a close with both teams putting up offensive prowess. The Houghton Gremlins would end up taking a 15 point lead 3 separate times during the period.
End of 3rd: Negaunee Miners 38, Houghton Gremlins 50
4th Quarter: Here begins two attempts at a come back for the Miners. Negaunee would bring the deficit to single digits with contributions from Hill and Nelson causing the Gremlins to take a timeout with 5:40 minutes remaining. Houghton would answer to give the Gremlins a 14 point lead. Wickstrom was seemingly making any and every basket she attempted for the Gremlins. From there, Nelson and Mason combined efforts to bring the Miners to within 7 points with 1:10 remaining and the score at 63-56. The score would remain the same as both teams could not score on the court or at the free throw line. Paige Sleeman made a Houghton basket with mere seconds left on the clock and to put the final score at 65-56.
End of Game: Negaunee Miners 56, Houghton Gremlins 65
The Joe Boogren Player of the Game was awarded to Lilly Nelson.
Next Game: The Negaunee Girls Basketball team take on the Marquette Reddettes at home next week Tuesday December 14th, 2021 at 7:15PM. You can listen live on Sunny 101.9!
LISTEN TO THE FULL GAME: NEGAUNEE MINERS VS HOUGHTON GREMLINS!