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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Freshman guard
Rianna Gayheart scored 19 of her career-high 24 points in the second half as the Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team posted a 70-62 victory over South Carolina Upstate on Saturday.
Gayheart came off the bench to finish 7-for-11 from the floor and 6-for-8 from behind the arc to help the Norse capture their first Atlantic Sun Conference win. Her six 3-point field goals fell just shy of NKU's single-game record of eight, set by Shannon Roddy on Feb. 1, 1997, against Lewis.
“After I hit one, my confidence rose, and my teammates were finding me when I was open,” Gayheart said. “I didn't pass up the open looks, and I had the green light to take it.”
She became the second Norse freshman this season to nearly tie Roddy's record.
Christine Roush made seven 3-pointers in a 69-67 win against Ball State on Dec. 8.
NKU (4-8 overall, 1-2 A-Sun) jumped out to an early 21-6 lead in the first half and eventually stretched the advantage to 16 (34-18) with 2:05 left in the half. South Carolina Upstate scored six unanswered points, though, to cut the deficit to 34-24 at the break.
The Norse shot 43.3 percent from the floor in the first half and held the Spartans to just 32.3 percent accuracy.
NKU built a 52-38 advantage with 8:35 remaining in the game, but South Carolina Upstate used a 12-2 run to cut the lead to four (54-50) with just under six minutes left. The Norse responded with a 14-4 run, including a trio 3-pointers by Gayheart, to extend their lead to 68-54 with 3:28 left in the game.
The Spartans were unable to get any closer than eight points the rest of the way.
NKU finished with a 44-41 advantage on the boards and limited South Carolina Upstate to 18.8 percent shooting from behind the 3-point line.
Melody Doss finished with 14 points, eight rebound and three assists for the Norse.
Kaitlyn Gerrety recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while
Ellen Holton also added 10 points.
“Our post players did a great job, and our key is to have a balanced attack,” NKU head coach
Dawn Plitzuweit said. “Obviously, Rianna was hitting her shots and it helped stretch their defense. You have to knock down some shots, and you also need to get offensive rebounds. We did a good job of doing both.”
Valese McAllister and Tee'Ara Copney both finished with 12 points and seven rebounds to lead the Spartans. Hawkins also poured in 12 points for South Carolina Upstate (5-8 overall, 1-1 A-Sun), and Shelby Hicks added 11 points off the bench.
NKU returns to action on Monday as the Norse host East Tennessee State at 5 p.m.
