Box score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the third time in eight days, Northern Kentucky University's women wrapped up a season-series sweep of an Atlantic Sun Conference opponent with a 75-58 victory at Lipscomb on Saturday night.
Ellen Holton scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds as Northern Kentucky (10-11 overall, 7-5 A-Sun) defeated the Bisons (2-20, 1-11 A-Sun) for the second time this season.
Kayla Thacker poured in 17 of her career-high 23 points in the second half for the Norse and made six 3-point field goals.
With Lipscomb holding a 42-39 lead early in the second half, NKU stormed back with a 17-0 run to gain a 56-42 advantage. The Norse extended the lead to as many as 21 points and cruised to their third straight victory.
Thacker began the game-changing run by knocking down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 42-all. Holton followed with layup and a 3-pointer, and Thacker again took over. The junior guard hit a jumper in transition to give NKU a 49-42 edge, added another trey to extend the Norse lead to 52-42.
Christine Roush's basket made it 54-42, and Holton capped the spurt by making a pair of free throws.
Last week, NKU also completed season sweeps of USC Upstate and East Tennessee State with road victories. The Norse are in their first season in the Atlantic Sun Conference while reclassifying to NCAA Division I status.
Tiara Hopper added 11 points for the Norse, who are unbeaten (9-0) when leading at halftime this season. On Jan. 12, NKU posted a 66-33 win over Lipscomb in Highland Heights, Ky.
Holton netted 11 points in the first half to move past both Regina Webb and Danita Duncan on the Norse all-time scoring list into 51st place. The senior center now has 685 career points at NKU and is three shy of passing Jenny Niehaus for 50th place in Norse history.
Rianna Gayheart finished with nine points, seven assists and three steals for the Norse, who shot 47.5 percent from the field and held a 26-12 advantage in points in the paint. Hannah Phillips scored 22 points to lead Lipscomb, which was held to 26.9 percent shooting from the field in the second half and finished at 32.7 percent for the game.
NKU plays host to Stetson next Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in The Bank of Kentucky Center. That will also mark the annual “Think Pink” game, and fans are invited to participate by wearing pink and supporting breast cancer awareness.
The Norse men also play Stetson that evening at 7 p.m. The entire night is dedicated to cancer survivors and to raise awareness for breast and colon cancer.
In addition, the first 200 NKU students will receive a free Coaches vs. Cancer T-shirt.
