HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky University Norse women's basketball returned home on Saturday to take on Kent State, as the Norse looked to bounce back after a blowout loss at #14 Kentucky on Thursday night. NKU pulled out a 61-58 victory in front of the home crowd, despite going the final 4:50 without a made field goal.
Northern Kentucky started hot with a pair of triples from
Gaia Castelli, who put NKU up 6-2 early. Seven of NKU's 15 first-quarter points came from the free throw line as the Norse led by four after ten minutes. Northern Kentucky stayed in the lead for the entire second quarter, leading by as much as nine after an
Anna Hamilton three-pointer halfway through. The Flashes closed the half on an 11-5 run to make it a three-point game at the half.
Threes from
Sara Basaran and
Maya Layton saw the Norse lead expand to double digits coming out of the halftime break, and a buzzer-beating triple from Castelli to end the period had the Norse up seven with ten to play. Things got ugly in the fourth as the Norse went 3-10 with seven turnovers in the period, but Castelli and Layton each hit big pairs of free throws to close out the Norse victory.
THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 61 | Kent State – 58
LOCATION: Truist Arena – Highland Heights, Ky.
RECORDS: NKU: 2-1 (0-0 HL), Kent St.: 0-2 (0-0 MAC)
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
– Northern Kentucky shot 34.0% from the field, 28.0% from three, and 18-24 from the line, including 8-12 at the free throw line in the final period. NKU held Kent State to 35.1% shooting as the Golden Flashes went 3-11 from deep and shot just 15-24 from the free throw line.
– The Norse had 25 turnovers in the game to Kent State's 18, with the Golden Flashes scoring 21 points off those turnovers. It marked just the fifth time since joining NCAA Division I that NKU has recorded 25+ turnovers in a win.
– NKU dominated the rebound battle 45-32 with 15 offensive rebounds on the night, as all Norse that played had at least one rebound.
–
Gaia Castelli led the Norse with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double, but the Norse freshman playmaker had eight turnovers in the game to two assists. Castelli went 5-15 from the field and 3-9 from deep.
–
Maya Layton had 12 points on 3-8 shooting, going 5-6 from the line. Layton also grabbed four rebounds with an assist, a block, and a steal, but had five turnovers.
–
Noelle Hubert had ten points on 3-7 shooting with four rebounds.
–
Sara Basaran had six points, eight rebounds, but had six turnovers.
UP NEXT
The Norse host Chattanooga for its Education Day Game on Thursday, November 12 at 11 AM.
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.
