TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball secured a road win in its penultimate nonconference contest, defeating Indiana State in a down-to-the-wire battle, 70-68. The Norse move to 5-5 overall while the Sycamores drop to 2-8.
STATS LEADERS
- Ally Niece led the Norse with a season-high 19 points and eight assists. The point guard also crashed the boards well with six rebounds.
- Molly Glick added 15 points and four assists, sinking three 3-pointers. She has hit at least three triples in the past five games.
- Emmy Souder and Ivy Turner also registered double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
- Kailey Coffey was just off a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds. Grayson Rose added seven boards for the Norse.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- Northern Kentucky jumped out to an 11-5 lead thanks to a strong defensive effort that held Indiana State to 18.8 percent from the field in the first quarter. However, the Sycamores closed the stanza out on a 5-0 run following an injury to one of Indiana State's players at the 3:25 mark.
- The Norse shot 50.0 percent from both the field overall and from beyond the arc in the second quarter, but eight turnovers that gave Indiana State three more possessions, coupled with the Sycamores shooting 53.8 percent from the field, allowed ISU to tie the contest up at the half, 28-28.
- Turner led the Norse with eight points and four rebounds at the half, while Niece added six points and three assists.
- NKU's 3-point shooting was the team's top statistic as the Norse connected on 5-of-9 attempts for 55.6 percent.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- After going back and forth for much of the third quarter, NKU used a 7-0 run in a span of 80 seconds to take a 47-41 lead. Indiana State got within a pair, but two timely free throws from Niece at the end of the quarter gave the Norse a 49-46 lead going into the final period.
- The Sycamores used an 11-2 run to lead by a 60-53 margin with 5:43 to play. The Norse used a layup from Coffey and two free throws from Niece to get within two points, but Indiana State hit a 3-pointer to go ahead, 66-61.
- The Norse took the lead at the 1:40 mark thanks to a clutch triple by Glick before the Sycamores would tie it up one more time at 68-68.
- After calling a timeout and advancing the ball with 13 seconds to play, Niece sank the game winner, a mid-range jumper, with three seconds left on the clock. After Indiana State advanced the ball following a timeout, Rose battled for a jump ball to give NKU possession as the clock wound down.
GAME NOTES
- Northern Kentucky shot 43.1 percent from the floor and hit nine 3-pointers at 45.0 percent. The Sycamores shot 41.4 percent from the field, but 29.4 percent from long range.
- The Norse posted a 40-35 rebounding advantage and had 17 second-chance points.
- Indiana State edged the Norse in points off turnovers (23-14), points in the paint (36-30) and fastbreak points (24-15).
UP NEXT
The Norse host Wofford College in the final game of the nonconference slate on Friday, Dec. 20. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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