ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Melody Doss and Molly Franson combined for 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team as the Norse came from behind for a 52-45 victory over Grand Canyon University in the first day of the Navy Classic on Friday evening at Alumni Hall.
 
Doss finished with a game-high 15 points, including 12 in the second half, four rebounds and two assists, while Franson added 10 points and six rebounds for NKU, which improved to 3-3 overall.  The pair went 13-for-16 from the free-throw line as the Norse shot 78.5 percent (25-for-33) from the charity stripe as a team against Grand Canyon (1-3).
 
"I thought Molly came in and played without fear tonight," NKU head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.  "I thought she played extremely hard, and she really attacked.  We went to her a lot, and we went to her on the block and she responded.  I think she was a kid who came into the game and helped us out today." 
 
After trailing 28-20 at the halftime break, the Norse opened the second half on a 10-4 run to come to within two (32-30) with 14:33 remaining in the game.  Four consecutive free throws from Franson tied the contest for the second time at 34-all three minutes later.
 
A Mikayla Terry layup gave the Norse their first lead of the second half at 40-39 with 5:26 left on the clock, and Christine Roush extended the NKU advantage to 42-39 two possessions later.  Grand Canyon answered on the next possession on a 3-pointer by Madison Craig to tie the game up at the 4:23 mark. 
 
Terry connected on her first of two free throw attempts to put NKU for good 23 seconds later, before Doss sandwiched a layup in between two pairs of successful attempts from the charity stripe to push the Norse lead to 49-42 with 2:04 remaining.
 
Craig once again went to the other end of the court for the Antelopes and hit another trey to bring Grand Canyon to within four (49-45) with 1:47 left on the clock.  After both teams came up empty on each of the next possessions, two free throws from Kaitlyn Gerrety and one from Terry sealed the victory for NKU.
 
"I thought our kids really, really competed, and I was really proud of our effort, which was really a focus for us heading into this game," Plitzuweit said.  "Defensively, I thought our kids did a great job tonight, and, offensively, our tempo was a little bit better than it has been."
 
Gerrety recorded nine points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and two assists for the Norse, while Terry added eight points and six rebounds.  Rianna Gayheart went 4-for-6 from the free-throw line to finish with four points and five rebounds for NKU, which finished with a 35-28 advantage on the boards.
 
The Norse scored 22 points, including 16 in the second half, off of Grand Canyon's 22 turnovers to complete the come-from-behind victory, and the bench outscored the Antelopes', 24-15.  NKU blocked six Grand Canyon shots, led by three from Gerrety and two by Roush.
 
Jessica Gajewski and Craig each finished with 12 points and two rebounds to lead the Antelopes, who shot 41.4 percent (12-for-29) in the first half to take the early lead.  Courtney Hayes scored eight points and dished out six assists, while Mikaehla Conner added eight points and five rebounds.
 
NKU concludes the two-day Navy Classic on Saturday as the Norse take on UNC Greensboro at 6 p.m.  A link to live stats is available at NKUNorse.com.  Be sure to follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for live game updates all season as well.