ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team placed three players in double-figures as the Norse defeated UNC Greensboro, 66-58, in the final game of the Navy Classic on Saturday at Alumni Hall.
 
Melody Doss led the NKU offense with 19 points, and she added six rebounds, while Kaitlyn Gerrety recorded the first double-double of the season for the Norse, scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 boards.  Christine Roush added 11 points and seven rebounds for NKU (4-3) as well.
 
The NKU defense started out strong, forcing turnovers on UNC Greensboro's first three possessions and limiting the Spartans to just one field goal in the first seven minutes of the game, as the Norse jumped out to an early 12-4 lead with 13:15 remaining in the opening stanza.
 
The Norse eventually pushed their lead to double-digits, taking a 27-14 lead on a 9-2 run with five minutes left in the first half.  NKU held a 31-18 advantage with just over three minutes remaining, but UNC Greensboro (2-4) ended the half on a 5-0 run to cut the Norse lead to 31-23 at the halftime break.
 
Both teams traded points over the first three minutes of the second half before a 7-2 run from UNC Greensboro sliced the NKU lead to 40-34 with 12:52 left on the clock.  The Norse responded with six straight points to push their advantage back to double-figures at 46-34 with 9:39 remaining.
 
NKU eventually stretched its lead to 15 (56-41) at the 4:25 mark on a pair of free throws from Rianna Gayheart, but the Spartans responded with an 12-3 run to cut the Norse advantage to 59-53 with 1:02 left. 
 
Doss connected on a layup to stretch the Norse lead to 61-53 with just under a minute on the clock.  A 3-pointer from Shanese Harris reduced the NKU advantage to 61-56 with 22 seconds remaining, but Doss and Mikayla Terry connected on five free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
 
The Norse finished with a slim 40-39 edge in rebounds, and the team pulled down 13 offensive boards against UNC Greensboro.  NKU connected on 20-of-48 attempts from the field to finish the game at 41.7 percent from the floor while holding the Spartans to 35.2 percent (19-for-54).
 
Gerrety finished with four assists, four steals and two blocked shots, while Rianna Gayheart scored eight points and dished out three assists for the Norse.
 
Harris led UNC Greensboro with 14 points, four rebounds and two steals, and Lucy Mason added 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and five steals.  Jade Scaife pulled down a team-high seven boards and dished out two assists to go along with two points for the Spartans.
 
NKU continues its five-game road trip on Wednesday, Dec. 3 as the Norse travel south to Lexington, Kentucky, to take on No. 9/10 Kentucky.  Tipoff from Memorial Coliseum is set for 7 p.m.  Links to live stats, live audio and the SEC Network broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.  Follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter this season for live NKU women's basketball games updates as well.