Some strong free-throw shooting at the finish by Elyse Zimmerman helped the Niles girls basketball team hold off Edwardsburg, 46-40, in non-conference action on Tuesday.

After the Eddies pulled within 40-38, Zimmerman went 6-of-8 from the foul line over the final 1:38. Zimmerman finished with a game-high 18 points.

“I think we came a long ways tonight,” said first-year Niles girls basketball coach Phil D’Amico. “We pulled together towards the end and I think the girls benefited by being together for a few years.”

Niles were in control early, jumping out to a 20-9 lead with 3:06 left in the second quarter. The Vikings took advantage of 13 Edwardsburg turnovers in the first quarter.

“We had a lot of young players on the floor,” said Edwardsburg girls basketball coach Nicole Cartwright. “We start one senior. The girls were nervous and it took time for them to mesh with their communication.”

The Eddies had only 12 turnovers the rest of the way and that helped them get back into the game. Edwardsburg took its lone lead of the game at 36-35 after getting 1-of-2 free throws from Alise Markel with 4:27 left in the game.

Niles quickly got back the lead 20 seconds later after getting a basket from Libby Moody.

“I thought we had patience,” D’Amico said. “We got back to attacking the basket. That got us back to the line and gave us some opportunities (to score).”

Both teams struggled at the free-throw line and from the field. Niles finished 17-of-31 from the line and 13-of-56 from the field, while Edwardsburg ended up 17-of-32 from the line and 10-of-38 from the field.

Jazmin Brann had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Vikings before fouling out with 3:03 left in the game. Emily Gaines added 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Savannah Dixon scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead the Eddies. Noelle Kraus added 11 points and seven rebounds.

 

NILES 46, EDWARDSBURG 40

NILES 46

Antonia Palmer 0, Maya Brookins 1, Kylee Myer 0, Jazmin Brann 13, Elyse Zimmerman 18, Emily Gaines 11, Jaiden Rolan 1, Libby Moody 2, Jayriel Palmer-Kirtdoll 0. TOTALS: 13 17-31 46

EDWARDSBURG 40

Michaela Ritschard 0, Savannah Dixon 17, Breanna Baushke 6, Noelle Kraus 11, Alise Markel 5, Lila Blough 1, Erzsebet Widman 0. TOTALS: 10 17-32 40

 

Niles                            11          27       34       46

Edwardsburg            4          20       31       40

3-point goals: Niles 3 (Gaines), Edwardsburg 3 (Dixon). Total fouls (fouled out): Niles 28 (Brookins, Brann), Edwardsburg 24 (Baushke). Shooting: Niles 13-of-56 for 23-percent, Edwardsburg 10-of-38 for 26-percent. Rebounding: Niles 35 (Brann 12), Edwardsburg 29 (Kraus 7). Turnovers: Niles 21, Edwardsburg 25. Varsity records: Niles 1-0, Edwardsburg 0-1