Maria Bennett (right) is defended by USI's Ariel Barnes on Saturday.
Box score
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Playing a zone defense against Northern Kentucky University is a sure way to get beat if
Maria Bennett is on the court. Just ask Southern Indiana, which tried that strategy on Saturday.
Bennett buried six 3-pointers and finished with 18 points as NKU rolled to a 64-52 victory over Southern Indiana in the PAC Arena.
Ellen Holton added 18 points and eight rebounds for NKU, which improved to 15-4 overall, 8-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
The Norse defense held Southern Indiana to 33.3 percent shooting from the field, and NKU made its final visit to the PAC Arena a winning effort. The torrid shooting of Bennett in the opening half ignited the Norse offense against the Southern Indiana zone.
Bennett knocked down four 3-pointers in the first half as NKU settled for a 29-20 lead at the break. Her trey midway through the first half gave NKU an 18-4 lead, but Southern Indiana battled back and cut the deficit to seven points twice.
Tiara Hopper's basket late in the half gave the Norse the nine-point edge at intermission. Hopper finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
Bennett, a transfer from Wright State in her first season at NKU, drained two more 3-pointers early in the second half as the Norse built a 12-point edge. Holton then went to work inside and her conventional three-point play increased NKU's lead to 57-38 with 6:33 remaining. Holton netted 12 points in the second half.
The NKU single-game record for 3-pointers made is eight, set by Shannon Roddy against Lewis on Feb. 1, 1997. Bennett's six treys on Saturday were her career best in an NKU uniform. While playing at Wright State, she hit eight 3-pointers in a game against Valparaiso on Jan. 8, 2011.
Casse Mogan finished with 13 points and upped her total 1,386 career points, which is 10th in NKU history. Melissa Wood is No. 9 with 1,393 career points.
Anna Hackert scored 12 points for Southern Indiana, which dropped to 7-12 overall, 1-10 in the GLVC. NKU is 37-19 all-time against Southern Indiana. The Norse finished 19-9 all-time against the Screaming Eagles in the PAC Arena and won seven of the final nine meetings in that facility.
NKU plays at Lewis on Thursday night. The Norse are tied for first place in the GLVC East Division with both Indianapolis and Wisconsin-Parkside.
(Photos courtesy of USI's Macabe Brown)
