ROCHESTER, Mich. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball ended the regular season with a down-to-the-wire, 67-65 victory over Oakland. The Norse move to 18-11 overall and finished fourth in the Horizon League with a 12-6 mark. The Golden Grizzlies fall to 11-18 (6-12 Horizon).
STATS LEADERS
- Ally Niece dropped a career-high 24 points to lead the Norse in scoring while also dishing out four assists.
- Emmy Souder also reached double figures, adding 11 points to go with six rebounds.
- Ivy Turner and Grayson Rose each added eight points, while Kailey Coffey had seven points, seven rebounds and three steals.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- Oakland was able to take a lead early on, 5-4 after two minutes of action. But, the Norse quickly retaliated with a 6-0 run and maintained the advantage through the rest of the half.
- Niece took control early, scoring 10 points in the first quarter, and finished the opening half with 14 points and four assists.
- The Norse also crashed the boards well, outrebounding Oakland 23-16 and limiting the Golden Grizzlies to just three offensive boards.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- Oakland and NKU traded baskets for much of the third quarter, with the Golden Grizzlies stringing a six-point run together to trail by a pair, 41-39. Though the Norse were able to convert efficiently on their field-goal attempts, 11 turnovers by NKU in the third quarter led to eight more shot attempts by the Golden Grizzlies.
- The Golden Grizzlies knotted the contest up at 52 apiece at the 8:11 mark in the fourth quarter, and later went on to take a 53-52 lead. From there, neither team led by more than three points for the remainder of the game.
- Oakland took its last lead of the game with 52 seconds to play, but Niece quickly answered back with a pull-up jumper to tie it up at 65-65. She then added a free throw to put NKU up by a point. Oakland called a timeout with six seconds on the clock and advanced the ball, which ended up in the hands of the team's leading scorer, Kahlaijah Dean. Souder came up clutch with a block, which was recovered by Coffey with one second to play. She added a free throw after being fouled and Oakland's ensuing last-second shot attempt bounced off the rim to give NKU the victory.
GAME NOTES
- With 12 wins in Horizon League play, the Norse have had the most successful mark since moving to the league.
- Northern Kentucky shot 43.9 percent from the field, while Oakland shot 41.4 percent.
- The Norse pulled down 38 rebounds and limited Oakland to 27, including just six offensive boards for the Golden Grizzlies.
- NKU outscored Oakland in the paint, 40-38, and also converted 18 points off 15 Oakland turnovers.
UP NEXT
The Norse have earned the No. 4 seed in the Horizon League Championship, which begins on campus sites on Tuesday, March 3. NKU will host No. 9 Detroit Mercy at BB&T Arena, with tip-off at 7 p.m. ET and a live broadcast on ESPN+.
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