DETROIT – Northern Kentucky women's basketball defeated Detroit Mercy on the road 82-61, which moves the Norse to 17-11 overall and 11-6 in Horizon League play. The Titans fall to 3-25 (3-14 Horizon).
STATS LEADERS
- Ally Niece led the Norse with 19 points, which included a blistering 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. The sophomore point guard also dished out six assists while not committing any turnovers.
- Both Emmy Souder and Grayson Rose chipped in 10 points on the night. Rose posted the third double-double of her career with 11 rebounds, and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, including two triples.
- Ivy Turner was just shy of double-digits with nine points, and Kailey Coffey was two points short of a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds. Coffey also doled out five assists in the win.
- Molly Glick added eight points and seven rebounds.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- Northern Kentucky started the game out on a 6-0 run, prompting a timeout from Detroit Mercy. The Titans slowly closed in, but NKU maintained an 18-16 lead after the first quarter.
- A layup and-one allowed Detroit Mercy to take its first lead of the game, sparking a 10-0 run for the Titans.
- Niece got the Norse back on track with a make from beyond the arc, followed by a layup from Ivy Turner and a pair of free throws from Coffey. NKU then made back-to-back-to-back triples courtesy of Souder, Glick and Rose to take a 33-30 lead. Detroit Mercy mustered one more field goal as the Norse led by a point at the half, 33-32.
- NKU saw a balanced scoring effort led by Souder with seven points while Coffey, Glick, Niece and Rose each added five points.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- NKU's hot shooting from the end of the second quarter carried over into the third, as two triples from Niece and one from Glick in the first five minutes of the quarter gave the Norse a 10-point lead, 45-35. The Norse went on to outscore the Titans 27-12 in the frame, which included a 6-for-11 showing from 3-point land.
- The Norse cruised to victory in the fourth quarter, with Carissa Garcia scoring seven points in the frame to lead the team.
GAME NOTES
- With tonight's win coupled with Wright State's victory over Oakland, NKU has locked into the No. 4 seed for the 2020 Horizon League Championship. The Norse will face Detroit Mercy once more as the Titans are locked as the No. 9 seed. Northern Kentucky will host Detroit Mercy in the first round of the tournament at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3.
- The Norse shot a remarkable 12-for-24 from beyond the arc. It is the highest 3-point field-goal percentage of the season for NKU. The last time NKU went 50.0 percent from beyond the arc was also against Detroit Mercy, with a 9-for-18 performance in the 2018-19 season finale on March 3, 2019. The last time NKU shot at least 50.0 percent with 10 or more 3-pointers was on Feb. 24, 2017, when the Norse went 13-for-19 (68.4 percent) against Milwaukee.
- NKU is now 3-0 when scoring 80 points or more. The Norse previously surpassed the threshold in a 88-46 win over UIC on Jan. 11.
- The Norse had 21 assists on 29 made field goals, marking the second time this season that the team has dished out at least 20 assists in a game.
UP NEXT
The Norse face Oakland in the regular-season finale on Saturday, Feb. 29. Tip-off from the O'Rena is set for 3 p.m. ET, with a live broadcast on ESPN+.
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