DAYTON, Ohio – Northern Kentucky women's basketball fell on the road to rival Wright State, 79-69. The Norse dip to 16-11 overall and 10-6 in Horizon League action while the Raiders advance to 16-11 (11-5 Horizon).
STATS LEADERS
- Ally Niece recorded her third 20-point outing of the season, pouring in 21 while also leading the Norse with five rebounds and four assists.
- Taylor Clos added 14 points, while Emmy Souder rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points. Souder went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, marking just the second time in her career that she has made at least three triples in a contest.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- Wright State scored on the opening possession and held the lead for the entirety of the first quarter, outscoring NKU 19-11.
- The Norse bounced back in the second quarter, outscoring Wright State 19-12 and tying the contest up twice before ending the first half with a one-point deficit, 31-30.
- Both teams shot 50.0 percent from the field in the second quarter, but stingy defense by NKU forced multiple WSU turnovers and the Norse were able to string together more shot attempts than the Raiders.
- NKU was able to keep Wright State to just one offensive rebound in the opening half. The Raiders entered the contest ranked second nationally with 17 offensive boards an outing.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- NKU tied the contest up early in the third thanks to a triple from Niece, but Wright State answered back with a 9-1 run.
- Niece scored 11 of NKU's 14 points in the third quarter and the Norse trailed by six going into the final quarter.
- The Norse made an offensive push heading into the final five minutes of play, getting within four points at the 3:34 mark thanks to a jumper from Grayson Rose. WSU was able to put a stop to the momentum and slowly extended its lead through the close of the contest.
GAME NOTES
- NKU shot 38.2 percent from the field while the Raiders connected at 50.0 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc.
- The Raiders upped their rebounding effort in the second half to finish with a 43-31 advantage in rebounding. NKU still kept the Raiders well under their season average in offensive rebounds, as Wright State finished with nine.
- Northern Kentucky committed nine turnovers, marking just the second time this season that the Norse have had fewer than 10 miscues. The other game was eight turnovers against Youngstown State on Jan. 2.
UP NEXT
NKU hits the road to close out the regular season. The first of the last two games will be at Detroit Mercy on Thursday, Feb. 27. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be carried on ESPN+.
#NorseUp
