HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Simone Law and Taylor Johnson combined to score 24 points and grab 11 rebounds to lead Loyola (Chicago) University to a 45-38 victory over Northern Kentucky University on Saturday afternoon at The Bank of Kentucky Center in nonconference action.
 
Christine Roush led NKU (2-2) with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Shar'Rae Davis finished one rebound shy of recording a double-double in her Norse debut, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals.  Kaitlyn Gerrety added nine points and seven rebounds, and she turned away three Loyola shots for NKU.
 
After trailing Loyola at the halftime break (27-19), NKU opened the second half with a 9-3 run to cut its deficit to 30-28 with 11:36 remaining.  The Norse slowly chipped away at the Ramblers advantage until a 3-point field goal by Davis tied the game for NKU at 32-all with 8:34 left in the game.
 
The two teams then traded points over the next six minutes. With Loyola holding a 37-34 lead at the 2:13 mark, Johnson was fouled by Roush on an offensive rebound.  Following the play, Ramblers head coach Sheryl Swoopes was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct technical foul, sending Roush to the free-throw line before Johnson's own attempt at the other end of the court. 
 
Roush connected on both attempts to pull the Norse to within one (37-36), but Loyola pulled down the rebound after Johnson's free throw was off the mark and a basket by Law pushed the Ramblers lead to 39-36 with two minutes remaining.  Crosby, Sam Lambrigtsen and Destiny Washington each connected on a pair of free throws over the final 1:03 to pull away for the victory.
 
"I thought our kids played extremely hard, and I thought our defense was very good," NKU head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.  "When we got really good looks early, we missed them, and when we tried to get the ball inside, we struggled to score against their length and athleticism.  Overall, I thought the quality of our shots was good enough.  I don't fault our kids for their effort today.  Sometimes when you are coaching a team that is really gritting it out and are solid on the defensive end, it's hard to slow down and make some shots.  But, that will come for us, and I think our kids are going to get better because of this."
 
Both teams got off to slow starts, and a Roush layup tied the game at 10-all before Loyola went on a 9-0 run to take a 19-10 lead with 3:49 remaining in the opening stanza.  The Ramblers held the Norse scoreless over a six-minute span before Roush ended the drought with her first 3-pointer of the game at the 3:31 mark, and Loyola took the eight-point lead into the locker room.
 
The Ramblers finished with a 53-37 edge in rebounds, including 20 offensive boards.  Loyola shot 31.4 percent for the game and went 13-for-17 from the charity stripe.
 
NKU forced the Ramblers into 28 turnovers and were able to score 20 points off those opportunities, but the Norse were only able to connect on 18.3 percent of their shots from the floor.
 
Law finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for Loyola, while Johnson added 12 points, four rebounds, one blocked shot and two steals.  Molly Crosby pulled down a game-high 12 points and contributed seven points and two blocked shots for the Ramblers, who improved to 1-2 overall with the win.
 
NKU returns to action on Tuesday, welcoming Ohio to The Bank of Kentucky Center at 7 p.m.  It will be Grade School Night where all kids 12 and under will receive free admission.  Kids are also invited onto the court following the game to participate in Shoot Around Tuesday and receive player autographs as well.  Links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.