HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky women's basketball team (20-11, 12-6 HL) took down Milwaukee (15-16, 11-7 HL), 78-58, to earn a Horizon League semifinal berth on Thursday night at BB&T Arena.
STATS LEADERS
- Ally Niece dominated in a career-high showing of 27 points, going 12-for-18 (67 percent) from the field. She also had seven assists in the game.
- Ivy Turner poured in 21 points for a career high and added six rebounds and three steals.
- Molly Glick also reached double figures with 12 points and a pair of 3-pointers.
- Kailey Coffey held it down on the boards, rounding up 12 off the glass and tacked on six points, as well as four assists.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- Niece and Turner jump started the Norse offense by pouring in nine and six points, respectively, in the first five and a half minutes of action. NKU was 7-for-8 from the floor to start the game, creating a 17-9 lead.
- Milwaukee's slow start didn't hamper its success as the Panthers stormed back and took the lead before the end of the first quarter, going on an 11-2 run. Turner had the only basket for the Norse in that span.
- Both sides had a made shot and a couple of free throws to open the second quarter before the ensuing minutes became a defensive standoff. The points started coming again with a Milwaukee triple, followed by jumper by Glick with 3:42 to go in the half.
- Like how the half started, Niece and Turner took over in the final minutes to keep the game close, hitting a jumper and a layup, respectively.
- NKU went into the half with a 34-33 edge thanks to an and-one by Niece and a jump shot by Emmy Souder in the closing minute and a half. The Norse shot 14-of-31 (45 percent) in the half and outrebounded the Panthers by three.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- Niece's impact continued to open the new half. The Norse sophomore dished to Souder for a bucket in the first possession before she fired off two more shots to make it 20 points on the night. With 5:40 to go in the third, NKU lead 45-37.
- Glick brought in a layup and sank a 3-pointer in the second half of the third quarter to put NKU on the verge of a double-digit lead. Niece and Turner cleaned up from there and threw up six more points to give NKU an 11-point advantage heading into the final ten minutes.
- Seven unanswered points fell for the Norse to begin the fourth, two of which came off of feeds from Niece. The Norse were firmly in the driver's seat with a 64-46 lead.
- After a Milwaukee layup, another eight unanswered points fell for the Norse thanks to threes by Niece and Turner, as well as a layup by Coffey. NKU was on a blistering 25-6 run to secure a 24-point lead, 72-48.
- With the game firmly in hand, Taylor Clos closed out the game with a pair of free throws with nine seconds to go.
GAME NOTES
- This is the first 20-win season under head coach Camryn Whitaker and the first of the Division I era.
- Niece surpasses her previous career high of 24 points tonight, which came against Oakland on February 29.
- This is the fifth time this season that Niece reached 20 or more points in a contest. In her last five games, she has averaged 19.6 points per game.
- Turner's previous best was 16 against Eastern Kentucky on November 6, 2019.
- All three of NKU's All-Horizon League honorees scored double figures tonight.
- The Norse finished with their highest free-throw percentage of the season with a 91.7 clip.
- NKU closes out an eight-game home winning streak at BB&T Arena. The Norse had similar success to close out the 2018-19 home slate, winning the last six contests.
UP NEXT
NKU heads to Indianapolis to play in the Horizon League semifinals against No. 2 seed Green Bay on March 9. The game will begin at 2:30 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN+.
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