DAYTONA BEACH – In a contest that was much closer than the final score indicates, the Northern Kentucky women's basketball team hung tough with the Atlantic Coast Conference's Pitt for three quarters before the Panthers pulled away in the fourth for an 88-57 victory on Friday night in NKU's opening game of the Daytona Beach Classic.
Northern Kentucky kept it as tight as 55-48 late in the third, but Pitt caught fire and closed the game on a 33-9 run to seal the win.
THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 57, Pitt – 88
LOCATION: Ocean Center – Daytona Beach, Florida
RECORDS: NKU: 1-3 (0-0 HL) – PITT: 2-4 (0-0 ACC)
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
-
Khamari Mitchell-Steen: 13 points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal
-
Carter McCray: 13 points, six boards, one helper and one swipe
-
Macey Blevins: Eight points, eight rebounds, three assists
-
Allison Basye: Eight points, two boards
-
Gabby Razzano: Five points
NORSE NOTES
- Mitchell-Steen had her fourth straight double-digit game to open the season as she dropped in 13 points to go with two rebounds, one assist and a steal. The junior guard is now ranked fourth overall in the Horizon League with an average of 16.5 points per contest.
- McCray had another strong game with 13 points and six boards. She too has gone for double-digit points in all four NKU games so far this season and is slotted in a tie for sixth in the conference in scoring at 16.0 points per game. The freshman center also leads the Horizon with a mark of 11.3 boards per contest.
- Blevins finished with a team-best and season-best eight rebounds to go with eight points. It was the most boards recorded by the Monticello, Kentucky native since she went for eight against Ball State on December 2, 2022 while she was playing with another program.
- Basye added eight points on a 3-of-5 night from the field which included a mark of 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
- Razzano chipped in five points on a perfect 2-of-2 performance. The freshman forward is shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from three so far this season.
- NKU posted 24 points in the paint, 15 bench points and 10 second chance points.
- Overall the game was tied once and featured three lead changes.
SOCIAL HUB
NEXT UP
The Norse are right back to it for their Dayton Beach Classic finale against Chattanooga on Saturday, November 25. Tip is set for 8 PM ET and the game will be played in front of a national audience on FloSports.
FOLLOW NKU NORSE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Get in the game and follow Northern Kentucky's NCAA Division I women's college basketball team through
@NKUNorseWBB on Twitter,
@NKUNorseWBB on Instagram,
nkunorsewbb on Facebook and
subscribe to the NKU Norse Youtube channel.
