ROCHESTER, Mich. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball's fourth-quarter comeback against Oakland fell short on Friday night. Despite the dominant night from Lindsey Duvall, NKU fell, 84-81, at the Athletics Center O'rena.
 
STATS LEADERS  

• Leading the Norse was Duvall, who piled on 27 points in the game on 9-for-18 (50 percent) shooting. She also had seven rebounds and a pair of assists.  
• Grayson Rose knocked down three triples on the night en route to a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double. She also had two blocks on the night.  
• Carissa Garcia was huge for the Norse in the late minutes, securing 15 points, four rebounds and four assists.  
• Kailey Coffey did a little of everything, scoring 14 points, hauling in four boards, dishing a pair of assists, stealing the ball twice and blocking a shot. 
• Ivy Turner was the fifth in double figures and the only other Norse to score with 11 points. She also contributed five assists and three rebounds to the cause.  

TURNING POINT 

• An 11-0 Oakland run at the end of the third quarter proved costly for the Norse's comeback hopes.  

FIRST HALF SUMMARY 

• Rose and Duvall triggered a 10-2 run to start the game. Rose had the opening basket with a three-pointer at the 8:35 mark, followed by a pair of free throws. Duvall then sank a jumper and three-pointer, respectively.  
• Duvall's dominant first quarter continued with a three-pointer and an and-one basket with 2:33 to go in the quarter.  
• Taylor dished to Turner for the final Norse points of the quarter. Oakland recovered slightly from the opening run to make it a 20-13 game heading into the second.  
• Oakland scored 15-unsanswered points to begin the second quarter. Duval laid one in to split up the run, but the Golden Grizzlies still outscored the Norse, 7-2, after that.  
• Coffey hit a pair of free throws and Garcia drilled a triple to end the half as NKU trailed, 39-29. 

SECOND HALF SUMMARY 

• The first two Norse possessions of the second half saw Coffey hit a jumper and Duvall lay one in.  
• After a pair of free throws and a three from Oakland, Duvall made it to the line to drain a couple of free throws to begin a 13-4 run for NKU. 
• Duvall, Rose and Turner each had three-pointers in the run to go along with a Coffey layup, bringing the Norse within five with 3:15 to go in the third. 
• Oakland countered the run with 11-unanswered points of its own before Duvall ended the quarter with a mid-ranger to make it a 14-point game.  
• With each side trading baskets early in the fourth, Northern Kentucky made headway with 7:44 to go, hitting four-straight shots thanks to Turner and Garcia. 
• Garcia found Coffey for an easy layup down low to continue the run at the 5:24 mark. Duvall stretched the run to 12-0 a possession later with a pair of freebies at the line, bring the Norse down just two points, 70-68.  
• The two-point gap was the closest the Norse could get as Oakland hit crucial shots from there to stay out of reach, forcing NKU to foul at the end of the game.  

GAME NOTES 

• Duvall's 27 points is a new career high, besting her mark of 21 against Robert Morris earlier this season on Dec. 12. 
• NKU placed five players in double-figures for the first time since a 65-62 win versus IUPUI on Feb. 15, 2019. Only one player scored more than 11 points in that matchup as opposed to tonight's four.  
• Rose's double-double is her first since a Feb. 27 matchup against Detroit Mercy last season. It is the fourth double-double of her career.  
• NKU's 17 assists ties a season-high with its Dec. 12 win over Purdue Fort Wayne, 83-48.  

UP NEXT 

The Norse finish out the regular season with one more game against Oakland at 3:00 p.m. The game will air on ESPN+