Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Box score

HOUGHTON, Mich. – A trip to the upper peninsula of Michigan never seems to end pleasantly for basketball teams from Northern Kentucky University. The latest example occurred Friday night during the opening round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Tournament, when the NKU women met top-seeded Michigan Tech.

Katie Wysocky scored 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out six assists as Michigan Tech ended NKU's season with a 69-49 victory over the eighth-seeded Norse in the SDC Gym. The Huskies, who trailed by a point at the break, used an overpowering second-half performance to eliminate the Norse (20-10) from the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

A year ago, NKU was the top seed and host for the Midwest Regional, but Michigan Tech posted a 76-53 win against the Norse in the semifinals.

Danae Danen added 18 points for Michigan Tech (29-2), which is ranked No. 3 nationally in the latest NCAA Division II poll. The Huskies' defense clamped down on NKU in the second half, and Michigan Tech advanced to the regional semifinals.

Casse Mogan scored 19 points to lead NKU, which built a 30-29 halftime lead by shooting 57.1 percent from the field. Brandi Rayburn netted 12 of her 15 points in the first half for the Norse, who shot 4-for-5 from 3-point range during the opening 20 minutes.

But the second half was a totally different story. Trailing 40-36 early in the second half, Michigan Tech used a 19-0 run to build a 55-40 lead and controlled the remainder of the game. The Huskies connected on 59.3 percent of their shots in the second half to pull away.

NKU made only 21.7 percent of its shots from the field in the second half and scored just nine points during the final 16 minutes of the game.

Kelsey Simpson added eight points for NKU, which was making its fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Norse still own a 3-2 lead in the all-time series with Michigan Tech, and all five games have taken place during the NCAA Tournament.

The NKU women have now made three trips to the upper peninsula of Michigan for NCAA Tournaments and lost all three games. The Norse dropped a first-round decision to Lake Superior State in the 1994 NCAA Tournament at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and Gannon (Pa.) upset NKU during the 2001 opening round at Houghton, Mich.

The NKU men's basketball team lost to Findlay in the first round during the 2003 NCAA Tournament, which was also played at Michigan Tech.