FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Northern Kentucky University Norse women's basketball looked to end 2025 on a high note on Monday night, with a tall task ahead of them in Horizon League leaders Purdue Fort Wayne. The Norse hung with the Mastodons early, but a 17-0 Purdue Fort Wayne run in the second quarter gave NKU a large deficit to overcome.
Slowly chipping away, the Norse clawed back to tie it in the fourth, and forced overtime on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by
Taysha Rushton.
A clutch bucket in the final moments from fifth-year wing
Mya Meredith gave NKU a late lead, and a stop from
Kamora Morgan was enough as the Norse pulled off the upset.
THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 88, Purdue Fort Wayne – 85
LOCATION: Gates Sports Center - Fort Wayne, Ind.
RECORDS: NKU: 4-11 (1-3 HL), PFW: 9-5 (3-1 HL)
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- NKU knocked down a season-high 15 threes in the game on just 26 attempts (57.7%).
- Northern Kentucky again won on the glass, winning the rebound battle 40-31. The Norse ended December having outrebounded their opponent in every game of the month.
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Karina Bystry had a career night, dropping 25 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block on 9-16 shooting from the field and 4-7 shooting from three-point range. She set new single-game career highs in points, rebounds, blocks, field goals, and tied her career high in threes.
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Mya Meredith dropped 18 points on 6-8 shooting with three steals and three assists. Her 18 points tied a season-high.
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Taysha Rushton went for 15 points with four rebounds, three steals, and shot 4-8 from three.
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Kylee Hunt had eight points off the bench, knocking down a pair of threes. She also had three rebounds and two assists.
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Maddie Moody had six points and seven rebounds, and a team-high two blocks.
GAME NOTES
- Northern Kentucky moves to 4-0 this season when scoring 70-plus points with the win.
- The win marked NKU's first win in a game decided by five points or fewer of the season, as the Norse were 0-3 in such games entering the contest.
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Karina Bystry is the first freshman in the country this season to record at least 25 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block, and four made three-pointers, while shooting 50% from the floor in a single game.
NEXT UP
- Northern Kentucky is back home on January 2, taking on IU Indy at 6 PM.
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.
