NKU dropped a 56-54 decision at Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday.
Box score
SOMERS, Wis. – Jadee Rooney made two free throws with six seconds remaining to give No. 24 Wisconsin-Parkside a 56-54 win over Northern Kentucky University on Saturday.
Casse Mogan missed a last-second attempt on NKU's final possession, and Wisconsin-Parkside escaped with the victory in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division first-place battle. Wisconsin-Parkside improved to 17-4 overall, 10-3 in the GLVC. NKU, which saw its four-game winning streak halted, is 16-5 overall, 9-4 in the GLVC.
Ellen Holton led NKU with 18 points and three blocks, while Mogan scored 15. The Norse owned a 10-point lead (43-33) with 11:22 remaining in the game, but Wisconsin-Parkside responded with a 13-2 run during the next four minutes to take a 46-45 advantage on Jaleesa Trussell's basket.
With less than a minute remaining and Wisconsin-Parkside holding a 54-52 lead, Mogan converted two free throws to tie the game at 54-all. Brittany Beyer then missed a jumper for Wisconsin-Parkside with 35 seconds left, but the Rangers grabbed the offensive rebound and called timeout.
After running the clock down, Rooney drew a foul from Holton and made two free throws to give the Rangers their winning points. Rooney scored a game-high 22 points and dished out five assists for Wisconsin-Parkside, which completed the season sweep of the Norse.
NKU shot 42.6 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 36-31 margin. The Norse were just 5-for-10 from the free-throw line in the second half after making all six of their attempts in the opening 20 minutes.
NKU is now 25-10 all-time against Wisconsin-Parkside, but the Rangers have beaten the Norse four straight times. The Norse are 9-8 all-time in DeSimone Gymnasium against Wisconsin-Parkside.
Kayla Thacker finished with nine points and seven rebounds for NKU, which will play host to Indianapolis on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
