Brought to you by Rebel Mettle Brewery, proud sponsor of Norse Women's Basketball.


CLEVELAND  – The No. 5 seeded Northern Kentucky women's basketball team was defeated in a tightly contested battle by No. 4 seed Cleveland State Thursday evening inside the Wolstein Center. 
 

STATS LEADERS

• Kennedy Igo led the Norse offensively with 12 total points tonight, shooting 4-for-8 (50 percent) from the floor. Igo added three steals, one rebound and one assist to her stat line as well. 
• Lindsey Duvall chipped in for 11 points, along with a team-high four steals and pulled down eight rebounds also. 
• Grayson Rose anchored the NKU interior defense once again, totaling 10 boards and four blocks in tonight's matchup. Rose finished with eight points as well. 
   

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• CSU opened this postseason matchup with a 10-3 scoring run over the first five minutes of play.
• Duvall ended the Norse scoring drought in the first period with a three-pointer at the 3:44 mark. 
• The defense of both programs certainly stepped up in this first quarter, as both squads went scoreless for over two minutes. The Norse recorded two blocks during this spurt as well. 
• The Vikings finished off the opening period with an 8-0 run to lead Northern Kentucky 18-6 in this tournament matchup. 
• Cleveland State kept their foot on the gas into the second quarter, pushing the lead out to 31-17 late in the first half. 
• CSU complied a scoring run of 14-2 over nearly four minutes of action. 
• The Vikings finished the opening half outshooting the Norse 47 percent compared to 23 percent of NKU. 

 

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• The Norse brought physical play into the third quarter, as NKU looked to go right after Cleveland State. NKU posted a 8-2 run to open the third period with buckets from Igo and Trinity Thompson. 
• Cleveland State countered the Norse with some high intensity defense of their own, forcing three straight NKU turnovers over 1:37 late in the third quarter. CSU found rhythm once again offensively as well, holding a 44-33 lead nearing the end of the period. 
• Igo and Duvall began the final quarter with a bang as each connected on threes to cut the CSU lead to just seven points at 46-39.
• NKU went cold for just over three minutes, shooting 0-for-4 heading into the media timeout with 4:46 left in the game trailing CSU 51-41. 
• Northern Kentucky mounted one last comeback late in the fourth quarter, closing the gap to just 58-51, but CSU ultimately sealed the victory over NKU.
   

GAME NOTES

• NKU's Horizon League Championship Tournament run comes to an end at the hands of Cleveland State. The Norse are now 6-7 all-time when playing in the Horizon League Tournament. 
• Igo's 12 points tonight ties her career-high and is her third time totaling that amount. Kennedy previous recorded 12 points against Purdue Fort Wayne (2020) and versus Oakland (2021).
• Both programs struggled from the free throw line tonight as NKU shot 4-for-9 (44 percent) overall, and the Vikings finished the night 5-for-14 (35 percent). 
• Cleveland State sweeps Northern Kentucky during the 2021-22 season going 3-0 overall against the Norse. 
• The Norse now look to further their post-season play as NKU awaits potential selection to either the WNIT or the WBI. Selection Sunday will take place on Sunday, March 13 this year.