Box score | Photos courtesy of Stetson sports information/David S. Williams
DeLAND, Fla. – For a half Monday night, it was a tightly contested defensive struggle. But during the final 20 minutes, Stetson's women demonstrated why they are unbeaten in Atlantic Sun Conference play and winners of 11 consecutive games.
Stetson held Northern Kentucky to 16 points in the second half, started taking advantage of Norse turnovers and sprinted to a 62-39 win over the Norse in the Edmunds Center. Victoria McGowan paced Stetson (15-4 overall, 8-0 A-Sun) with 16 points and eight rebounds.
McGowan netted 11 points in the second half as the Hatters extended their school-record winning streak to 11 games. Sasha Sims added 13 points for Stetson, which finished with a 28-6 advantage in points off turnovers. The Hatters forced NKU into 22 turnovers and also blocked nine shots.
NKU (6-10 overall, 3-4 A-Sun) built a seven-point lead (11-4) early in the first half by holding Stetson to 2-for-13 shooting from the field. The Hatters responded with a 3-point field goal by Ashley Dennis and a conventional three-point play from Sims to slice the deficit to 11-10.
The Norse countered with a 9-3 run to extend their lead to 20-13 on
Jaimie Hamlet's 3-pointer from the left corner, but Stetson scored the next 11 points to take a 24-20 advantage. McGowan keyed the Hatter run with five points and an assist.
Kayla Thacker halted the Hatter spurt by draining a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, but Stetson took a 24-23 lead into the locker room. That was not the position NKU preferred because going into Thursday's game, the Norse were 0-9 when trailing at the half this season.
Stetson opened the second half with a 7-0 run to build a 31-23 lead on McGowan's basket, a coast-to-coast driving layup. The Hatters eventually forged a 39-27 advantage, but
Christine Roush buried a 3-pointer from the right corner to make it a 39-30 game.
That is when Stetson pulled away for good, using a 12-2 spurt to build a 51-32 lead. McGowan capped the run by grabbing an offensive rebound and spinning inside for a layup.
Thacker led NKU with nine points. The Norse shot 25.5 percent from the field, including 6-for-19 from 3-point range.
Stetson finished at 35.9 percent shooting from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 47-41 margin. Cherisse Burris pulled down a game-high 12 boards for the Hatters, and she added three blocks and five steals.
Stetson's Jama Sharp scored 11 points, collected five steals and blocked four shots. Stetson also extended its home winning streak to 14, the longest in program history.
NKU plays host to Kennesaw State at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
