NASHWAUK- The North Woods girls picked up a big road win last Thursday over Nashwauk-Keewatin, 64-39.
After a slow start the Grizzlies took the lead on a pair of Tatum Barto charities and a two buckets down low by River Cheney for an 8-0 lead, and another Cheney score gave North Woods a double-digit lead at 12-2. The Grizzlies went flat from the field as the Spartans crawled back to within five, but a fast break bucket by Helen Koch broke the drought and gave North Woods a 19-12 edge. The Grizzlies boosted the lead to 30-18 at the half.
North Woods was never threatened in the second half, with the period playing out much the same way as the first stanza, the Grizzlies rolling to the 64-39 win.
Defense keyed the Grizzlies’ performance throughout the game, as they forced 29 turnovers, made 19 steals and limited the Spartans to just 22 percent shooting. The Grizzlies weren’t much better from the floor at 31 percent, but they put up 30 more shots than the Spartans.
Cheney led the Grizzlies with 16 points, followed by Barto with 15 and Koch with 10.
An unusual midseason 11-day layoff has the Grizzlies idled until they host Barnum next Monday, kicking off a string of four games in five days.