MIAMI – Northern Kentucky women's basketball wrapped up the FIU Thanksgiving Classic with a 67-45 victory over the host Panthers. The Norse move to 4-4 on the year after winning their fourth-straight contest while FIU drops to 1-5.
STATS LEADERS
- Molly Glick scored a career-high 24 points, sinking a career-best-tying five 3-pointers in the process. The redshirt-senior also added an assist and a steal while committing zero turnovers, and scored her 1,000th career point during the first half. Glick was named the tournament MVP following the game.
- Ally Niece added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, and she also did not commit a turnover in the win. Niece was named to the all-tournament team along with Glick.
- Ivy Turner was the third Norse in double figures with 13 points and a career-best eight rebounds. The freshman guard was also 5-for-5 from the free-throw line and added a pair of assists.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- The Norse struck quickly, with Turner scoring on the first possession of the contest. NKU jumped out to a 13-5 lead behind baskets from Glick, Niece and Turner, and continued to expand on the lead as NKU held a 17-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
- The Norse led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but FIU was able to chip away slightly at the gap, trailing 33-26 with 1:36 to go in the stanza. NKU ended the run when Glick hit a pair of free throws following a technical foul, recording her 1,000th career point in the process. Turner added another layup to close out scoring for the half.
- Niece and Glick both hit double digits before the half closed, with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Turner was not far behind with eight points to go with five rebounds.
- Both teams shot just above 38 percent in the half, but the Norse held the Panthers to eight fewer attempted field goals thanks to a 24-15 rebounding advantage and forcing nine turnovers that were converted into 12 points.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- Northern Kentucky used a 20-4 run that spanned from 7:14 in the third quarter to 8:56 in the fourth to jump out to a sizeable lead, 57-33.
- Glick continued to hold the hot hand for the Norse, adding 13 more points, while Turner and Carissa Garcia each added five points.
- FIU was held to 18.2 percent in the third quarter and 26.7 percent from the floor in the fourth while the Norse shot above 35.0 percent in both stanzas.
GAME NOTES
- Glick is the 30th Norse in program history to amass 1,000 points in a career, and she is just the second player to score 1,000 points in the Division I era. Christine Rousch (2012-16) was the first fully D-I player to hit 1,000 points. Melody Doss (2011-15) also reached the milestone, but played her freshman campaign in the Division II era.
- The Norse outscored the Panthers in each quarter, shooting 38.3 percent for the game while FIU shot 30.8 percent.
- NKU posted a 46-32 advantage on the boards and edged the Panthers in the paint, 24-18.
- Northern Kentucky is now 3-1 against first-time opponents this season. The Norse will play their final first-time foe on Dec. 20 when they close out the nonconference schedule against Wofford.
UP NEXT
The Norse return home on Sunday, Dec. 8, to host No. 8/9 Louisville. Tip-off against the Cardinals is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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