HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack and its best defensive effort in the NCAA Division I era to post a 67-29 win over Atlantic Sun Conference foe North Florida on Saturday night in Regents Hall.
 
Eleven different Norse players got in the scorebook, led by Christine Roush, who netted 14 points and six rebounds on the night. Kelley Wiegman added eight points and three other players, Melody Doss, Kasey Uetrecht and Courtney Roush, each had seven points, which was a career high for Courtney Roush.
 
The Norse shot 41.7 percent (25-for-60) from the field, including 31.0 percent (9-for-29) from long range, while holding North Florida to just 22.0 percent (11-for-50) from the field, the lowest field goal percentage for an  NKU opponent this year.
 
The 38-point margin of victory, which led the Norse to a 15-12 overall record and a 6-6 mark in A-Sun play, is the team's largest since reclassifying to Division I. Similarly, the 29 points allowed is the least allowed by the Norse since holding Salem International to just 19 points in a 75-19 win on Nov. 19, 2011.
 
Paulina Zaveckaite led the Ospreys (11-16, 2-10 A-Sun) with a 15 points, 12 rebound performance for her 12th double-double of the season.
 
After North Florida opened the game with a 3-pointer from Sierra Shepard, the Norse rattled off nine straight points, including five from Christine Roush, over the next four minutes to set the tone in the early part of the game. The Norse maintained their edge for the first 10 minutes of the contest as seven different players got in the scorebook early to help the Norse to a 21-12 lead.
 
Both teams went cold late in the opening stanza, scoring just one point between the two, which was a Taru Madekivi free throw for North Florida, over a 6:42 span before Davis and Doss combined to put the Norse on a 12-2 run over the final 3:20 of the half to put NKU in the locker room with a 33-15 lead at the break.
 
The Norse continued to press the advantage, opening the second half on a 9-2 run over the first three minutes of the stanza, keyed by a layup and a 3-pointer from Wiegman, made it a 42-17 NKU lead. The 25-point advantage held through the halfway point of the second half until the Norse finished the game on a 17-4 run to reach the final score.
 
NKU will close out the home half of the 2014-15 regular season on Wednesday when the Norse host Kennesaw State at The Bank of Kentucky Center. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. The team will honor its senior class – Doss, Gerrety and Malika Glover – in a special pregame ceremony.  Links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.