The Alma Women's Basketball team opened their 2010-11 season on the road Tuesday evening, when they traveled to Midland, MI, to take on NAIA Division II Northwood University. The Scots fought hard and valiantly against Northwood, but came up on the short-end of a 63-55 score, dropping them to 0-1 on the young season.   

"Northwood is a very good team and I thought our kids were determined and played very well," said Alma Head Coach Keisha Brown. "Throughtout our first season last year,  we tried to implement our system and get the players to buy into it. There were some bumps and bruises and we have a group focused on not going through another 6-18 season. The kids that left here helped build the foundation and our returning players have worked very well with the newcomers.   

"We now play in the Hope Tournament this weekend, and we will see some very good competition. We want to take tonight and build upon it in these next two contests."   

The young visitors came out strong and showed they were not intimidated playing against the more experienced Timberwolves. The Scots led 16-10 halfway through the first 20 minutes, and 20-10 at the 8:55 mark. Northwood took a 27-26 lead with a minute to go, and that lead held going into halftime.   

So. G Danielle Hicks (Marshall, MI/Marshall) led Alma with seven points, while Sr. F Sydney Beckwith (Weidman, MI/Beal City) had six points and three rebounds.

As a team, the Scots outrebounded the bigger Timberwolves by a margin of 19-16, led by four each from Fr. G Bailey Gooding (Gaylord, MI/Gaylord) and Jr. F Jessica DeBruin (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores). The Scots shot 41% from the field (12 of 29), while Northwood was good on 37.5% of their attempts (9-24).   

Northwood began the second half with a couple of quick three-pointers to increase their lead and had a 46-38 advantage midway through the frame. The Timberwolves stepped up the defensive pressure on the Scots early as well, forcing Alma to go deep into the shot clock on more than one occasion.   

The game then settled into a groove as the teams traded baskets, as Northwood maintained a consistent 10-point lead. That was the margin at the 9:00 mark (48-38), 4:33 (53-43) and 3:03 (56-46). The Scots cut the lead to eight twice, the last being 58-50 with one minute left in the game.   

However, the visitors were not able to get any closer, and despite hanging very tough against the Timberwolves, the Scots ultimately dropped the season-opener by the final margin of  eight points, 63-55.   

Beckwith finished with a team-high 15 points and added eight rebounds, while Hicks was next with 13 points and sqaud-bests nine boards and five assists. Gooding had eight points and four rebounds, and DeBruin finished the contest with seven points and five boards.

As a team, the Scots shot 45.3 % from the field (24-53) and two of eight from beyond the arc, while the Timberwolves finished at 41.7% (20-48), but did hit five three pointers on 15 attempts.

For the game the visitors from Alma had the edge on the boards by a margin of 36-28 against the taller hosts from Northwood.   

The Scots next play Friday evening in the Hope College Tournament, against Baldwin-Wallace, with the game beginning at 6:00 p.m. Alma will then go up against Manchester on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.