MIAMI – Northern Kentucky women's basketball won its third-straight game, defeating Jacksonville State in the first game of the FIU Thanksgiving Classic, 66-63. The Norse move to 3-4 on the season while the Gamecocks drop to 3-5.
STATS LEADERS
- Four Norse reached double figures in the win. Ally Niece and Molly Glick both had 16 points and four rebounds, with Glick going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.
- Ivy Turner added 12 points, two assists and two steals in an efficient offensive showing as she went 4-for-6 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line.
- Emmy Souder was just shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
- Kailey Coffey also added nine rebounds to go with seven points, three blocks and two steals.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- The Gamecocks got off to a hot start, opening the contest up with an 11-2 run. The Norse started to gain momentum at the end of the stanza as Glick sank a 3-pointer to close JSU's advantage to 20-10.
- Taylor Clos opened up the second quarter with a triple as NKU started to chip away at Jacksonville State's lead. Trailing 28-22 with 4:33 remaining in the half, NKU finished the first half on an 11-5 run, including the last seven-straight points. Souder tied it up with a pair of free throws with 22 seconds to play and the Norse locked down on defense to prevent JSU from taking the lead back.
- Jacksonville State shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the first quarter while the Norse connected at 30.8 percent, but the second quarter marked a key shift as NKU shot 66.7 percent while holding JSU to 40.0 percent. Additionally, the Norse hit three 3-pointers on five attempts in the second quarter while JSU was held to 16.7 percent from long range.
- NKU forced the Gamecocks into nine turnovers, converting those into nine points.
- Glick paced the team with nine points, hitting three triples on four attempts.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- Jacksonville State jumped out to a six-point lead just under two and a half minutes into the third quarter, but the Norse stabilized by the end of the stanza. Niece added a layup to tie the contest at 44-44 with 2:49 to go before a layup and-one from Turner gave NKU its first lead of the game, 47-46 with 36 seconds to play in the third.
- The final quarter saw the lead switch six times before the Norse would take the lead for good at the 1:43 mark thanks to a pair of Turner free throws. Taylor Clos drew a foul on the defensive end, forcing the Gamecocks to foul on the next NKU possession.
- Niece hit a pair of free throws to put the Norse up by three points and added three more in the final 15 seconds of the game to secure the Norse victory.
GAME NOTES
- Glick is now in sole possession of third on NKU's all-time career 3-pointers list as she currently has 163. She is also just 11 points away from scoring her 1,000th career point.
- Northern Kentucky shot 44.0 percent from the field while the Gamecocks shot 40.6 percent. The Norse also edged the Gamecocks from beyond the arc with seven 3-pointers at 46.7 percent while JSU hit six triples on 24 attempts (25.0 percent).
- NKU won the rebounding battle, 38-36, and scored more points in the paint, 28-26.
- The Gamecocks entered the contest ranked 10th in the nation in free throws attempted, but were held to just eight shots from the charity stripe and only five points made from free throws.
UP NEXT
The Norse are back on the court on Sunday, Dec. 1 for a matchup against host Florida International. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will be carried on CUSA.tv.
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