HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - As the race for a first-round bye in the Horizon League Championship draws to a close, every game for Northern Kentucky University Norse Women's Basketball keeps gaining higher and higher importance. 

On Thursday night, the Norse battled Detroit Mercy, a squad the Norse dominated to the tune of a 30-point win back in late January. Despite their performance in the previous matchup, NKU came out flat and faced a 12-point deficit by the halftime break, and fell behind by as much as 18 in the third quarter. NKU showed some fight late, cutting it all the way down to two, but the hill proved too large to climb as the Titans grabbed a key home victory. 

THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 75, Detroit Mercy – 81
LOCATION: Calihan Hall - Detroit, Mich.
RECORDS: NKU: 10-20 (7-12 HL), UDM: 14-13 (8-11 HL)
 
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- Mya Meredith led the Norse with a 21-point, six-rebound performance. She went 7-11 from the field and 5-6 from the charity stripe.
- Halle Idowu grabbed a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. It marked the first double-double for NKU since Meredith had one on February 8 against IU Indy. 
- Macey Blevins stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block. 
- Kamora Morgan scored in double figures (12) for just the second time in her last thirteen games, marking her eighth such game of the year. 
- Jaci Jones dished out seven assists, one shy of a season-high.

NORSE NOTES
- In a physical battle, NKU struggled on both ends of the floor in the first half, shooting just 28.1% from the field and allowing UDM to shoot 47.2%. Turnovers also caused trouble for the Norse again, as they recorded 15+ turnovers and lost the turnover battle for the third straight game. 
- After falling behind by 18 in the third quarter, NKU started to get some offense going by attacking the paint and getting looks at the rim or getting to the free throw line. Getting inside helped to open things up outside, where the Norse went 5-9 in the fourth quarter. 
- Down nine with just over two minutes to go, NKU strung together some stops and buckets with a 7-0 run to put the Titans on their heels. Northern Kentucky then forced a turnover after a lengthy review, but after a missed three and another lengthy review on a possession call, all momentum from the Norse side was drained. Aaliyah McQueen knocked down a big pair of free throws, which all but sealed the game for NKU in a close and physical battle.

NEXT UP
Northern Kentucky Women's Basketball wraps up the regular season on Saturday at Oakland. 

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.