Northern Kentucky University Athletics

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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Sadie Bowling and Casse Mogan combined for 34 points and 19 rebounds as Northern Kentucky University opened the season Wednesday night with an 81-41 win against UC-Clermont.

Bowling scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Mogan added a career-best 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Norse held UC-Clermont (1-1) to 25.6 percent shooting from the field and finished with a 50-30 rebounding advantage.

Bowling, who scored 17 points in the second half, also collected four steals. The sophomore forward netted 10 points during a 20-3 run in the second half in which NKU extended a 33-22 lead into a 53-25 advantage.

Bowling started the spurt by draining a 3-pointer, and she later added a jumper and a pair of free throws. After making a steal, Bowling finished off a fast break with a basket while being fouled at the 16:37 mark. She capped the conventional three-point play by making the free throw to give NKU a 45-23 advantage.

“I just really like the way Sadie came out in the second half and played. That kid is all about effort and she plays so hard,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. “When she does that, I think that raises the bar for the rest of our players. She is a young lady who when she was in high school, she played a one, a two, a three, a four and a five.

“I knew she was a good outside shooter, and last year she didn't get to play out on the perimeter a whole lot, but now she is playing a lot of different positions for us and getting the opportunity to shoot the ball. Last year, we didn't need her to score a lot; maybe defend and rebound. This year we need her to look for her shot and she did tonight and was very successful.”

Going into Wednesday night, Bowling's career high for points was seven against Lake Erie on Feb. 10, 2009.

“During practice this week, I felt really good about my shot,” Bowling said. “Last year, I didn't get to play that much. This year we have a lot of talent and I actually got to go out there and show what I can do.”

Mogan, a sophomore guard from Circleville, Ohio, dished out a team-leading five assists to go along with her first career double-double. Her previous best scoring output was 14 points against Wayne State on Nov. 20, 2008, also a season-opening win for NKU.

“Casse, with her jumping ability, her length, her ability to stop on a dime, shoot the three and handle the ball, can really be a factor for us,” Winstel said. “I thought that it was a pretty good game for us, but we need to get better and we will.”

UC-Clermont made just three field goals during the first half, but the Cougars were 13-for-15 from the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes and trailed 33-19 at the break. NKU was 10-for-29 from the field in the first half, including 3-for-13 from 3-point range.

Kendra Caldwell added nine points and seven rebounds for NKU, which forced UC-Clermont into 25 turnovers. Four NKU players – Whitney Levering, Kelsey Simpson, Jessie Carmack and Jaimie Hamlet – each netted eight points.

NKU will play host to Kentucky State at 2 p.m. Saturday.