-
49
Defiance F-506572 0-1
84
Winner Northern Ky. F-505 1-0,0-0 Horizon
Defiance F-506572
0-1
49
Final
84
Northern Ky. F-505
1-0,0-0 Horizon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Defiance F-506572 10 10 23 6 49
Northern Ky. F-505 22 16 27 19 84

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Norse start season in win column, defeating Defiance 84-49

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky University Norse women's basketball opened the 2026-27 campaign on Monday evening inside Truist Arena, taking on Defiance College. The Norse took a double-digit first-quarter lead and never trailed as they rolled the Yellowjackets by 35 in the season opener. 

Freshman guards Maya Layton & Gaia Castelli opened the scoring with back-to-back three-pointers for the Norse, each assisting on the other's make. Layton made a couple of free throws before drilling another triple, putting the Norse up seven. A few missed layups saw Defiance push it back to one possession; the Norse finished the quarter strong as a pair of two-point buckets from Castelli closed the period. NKU continued to lead by double-digits in an ugly second quarter that saw both teams go scoreless for over three minutes, but a few buckets from Layton ensured the Norse led by 18 at the break. 

Defiance showed fight in the third, getting it down to 13 at one point, but NKU's bench came up big as buckets from Alma Rashelbach and Caroline Eaglin pushed the lead back to 18. NKU cruised in the fourth, opening up a 12-0 run to push things out of hand. Northern Kentucky ended on top, 84-49.

THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 84 | Defiance – 49
LOCATION: Truist Arena – Highland Heights, Ky.
RECORDS: NKU: 1-0 (0-0 HL), DC: 1-1 (0-0 WHAC)
 
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
– Northern Kentucky shot 39.0% from the field, 26.5% from three, and 15-19 from the line in the contest. The Norse allowed Defiance to shoot 29.9% from the field and just 2-11 from distance. 
– The Norse won the turnover battle, 17-12, scoring 15 points off turnovers on the evening. 
– NKU grabbed 17 offensive rebounds while winning the rebound battle 58-40. 
– Northern Kentucky recorded 39 bench points on the night. 
– Maya Layton led the Norse with 15 points and seven rebounds in her Norse debut. She also recorded three steals, two assists, and a blocks, while shooting 3-7 from deep, but 2-7 on twos. 
– Caroline Eaglin poured in 14 points in 13 minutes off the bench, finishing 5-6 from deep and 3-4 from distance. The Newport native also grabbed three boards. 
– Gaia Castelli finished the night with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. Castelli finished 5-12 from the field, including 4-6 from inside the arc. 
– Alma Rashelbach dropped ten points off the bench while grabbing six rebounds. She finished 3-6 from the floor and led the Norse with four made free throws. 
– Kennedy Younkin had eight points, five rebounds, and two assists off the bench. 
– Sara Basaran finished with seven points, eight rebounds, and two assists. 

GAME NOTES
– The Norse earned their first season-opening victory of the Jeff Hans era, moving to 1-2 in season openers under the third-year head coach. Northern Kentucky is now 6-9 in season openers since joining Division I and 4-4 in home openers in the DI era. 
– Caroline Eaglin set career highs in points, field goals, three-pointers, and rebounds.
– Alma Rashelbach set career highs in points, field goals, free throws, and rebounds.
– Kennedy Younkin tied a career-best in points, and set a new career-high in field goals and assists. 

UP NEXT
Northern Kentucky faces a tough test on Thursday, taking on 14th-ranked Kentucky at 6:30 PM inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. 

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.
 
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