HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky women's basketball team fell to Wright State, 63-53, on Friday night at BB&T arena. The loss moves NKU to 9-9 on the year and 3-4 in Horizon League play. Wright State is now 10-8 on the season and 5-2 in conference play with the victory.
STATS LEADERS
- Ally Niece had 16 points, five assists and a trio of steals to her name. She was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
- Taylor Clos had 13 on the night on 4-of-8 (50 percent) shooting, which included a 3-of-4 (75 percent) mark from 3-point range.
- Ivy Turner reached double figures at 10 thanks to adept free-throw shooting, going 6-of-6 from the line.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- Kailey Coffey dished over to Niece for a layup to begin the game. Through four minutes of action, NKU held a 6-4 lead over the Raiders after Molly Glick brought in a layup of her own and Niece went to the line for two.
- Emmy Souder was the next Norse to get into the box score with a layup at the 3:47 mark in the first quarter. Clos and Niece each contributed another couple of points to close out the quarter as NKU trailed 15-12.
- Niece jumpstarted the second quarter with three-straight buckets for the Norse. Turner then went to the line, making two free throws, and laid one in later with 1:26 left in the half.
- The strong finish to the half for NKU ended with makes by Grayson Rose and Glick, putting the Norse up 29-23 at the break.
- NKU held Wright State to 1-for-7 (14 percent) shooting from beyond the arc in the first half. Even more impressive, the Norse forced 12 turnovers, led by Niece's trio of steals.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- The Raiders stormed back to a two-point advantage to open the new half of play, going on a 10-2 run.
- Clos ended the burst of Wright State points by swishing a three at the 7:18 mark. Turner and Niece then hit a combined six free throws to give NKU a 40-34 lead with 5:29 left in the third.
- The Norse lead stretched to double digits at 49-38 when Clos buried a three with 1:01 to go in quarter.
- Wright State put up 13 points to NKU's two in the beginning minutes of the fourth quarter, trimming the Norse lead to 51-49. Just like in the third quarter, Clos ended the run by draining a three, this time with 4:42 to go in the game.
- Unfortunately for the Norse, the Wright State run could not be contained as the Raiders followed with three-straight baskets to seal the game.
GAME NOTES
- This is the 10th matchup of the season for Ally Niece where she scored double figures.
- Niece's three steals matches a career high set against Detroit Mercy on March 2, 2019.
- This is the second time this season that Taylor Clos finished with a 75 percent clip from three-point land.
UP NEXT
The Norse face Oakland on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7:00 p.m. in a home matchup. The game will be carried on ESPN3.
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