Torrid shooting and stifling defense in the first quarter led the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team to a 71-59 victory over Cleveland State Thursday in the opening round of the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship at Kress Events Center.
Kasey Uetrecht scored a team-high 15 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out five assists for the Norse, who improved to 18-12 on the season with the win. Rianna Gayheart had a strong performance as well, netting 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go with five boards and six assists. Molly Franson added 12 points as well.
NKU now moves on to the second round of the Horizon League Championship to face Valparasio, which defeated Detroit in overtime, 94-91, to open the tournament. Friday’s tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Eastern with the action carried live on ESPN3.
As a team, the Norse shot 41 percent (25-of-61) from the floor and 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from long range. The Norse won the battle on the boards as well, by a 38-29 margin.
Khayla Livingston led the Cleveland State (9-20) effort with 18 points, going 5-of-7 from three. Ashanti Abshaw added 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Vikings shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52) from the field.
The Norse got off on a hot streak early, scoring the game’s first nine points over a 3:30 stretch. Defensively, the Norse held Cleveland State to just 3-of-14 from the floor and forced seven Viking turnovers. Gayheart helped extend the NKU lead, knocking down three treys in the first quarter as NKU took a 25-7 advantage to the first quarter break.
Cleveland State found its stroke from beyond the arc in the second quarter, knocking down six three-pointers in the stanza and cutting into the Norse lead. NKU took advantage of opportunities inside, and kept the advantage to double-digits at halftime, leading 40-28.
The Norse shot 51.7 percent (15-for-29) in the first half, including 7-of-13 from long range.
The Norse worked the ball inside in the second half, as Kasey Uetrecht picked up eight and Franson added six to help the Norse keep pace. Cleveland State got the score as close as eight points at 54-46 with 2:07 to go in the third, but the Norse finished the period on a 6-1 run to extend the lead back to 60-47.
The run continued to start the fourth quarter, as the Norse outscored the Vikings 9-1 over the first 4:30 of the quarter, jumping out to their largest lead of the game at 69-48. Cleveland State outscored the Norse the rest of the way, 11-2, but NKU was able to hold on for the victory.
Game Information
Valparaiso University Crusaders (10-20, 5-13 Horizon)
Northern Kentucky University Norse (18-12, 9-9 Horizon)
March 11 – 5 p.m. Central (6 p.m. Eastern)
Kress Events Center (3,000) – Green Bay, Wis.
TV: ESPN3 // Bill Scott (play-by-play) and Cordero Barkley (analyst)
Series History: Series tied, 1-1
Fast Break Points
• NKU has averaged 72.3 points per game this season to rank third among Horizon League squads.
• NKU’s overall turnover margin of +3.7 ranks second in the Horizon League and 38th in the nation.
• The Norse have forced 15 or more turnovers in 26 of their 30 regular-season games, and have forced 91 errors in their last five games.
• The Norse rank fourth in the League in FG shooting (41.8%) and lead the League in 3-point (35.4%) and FT shooting (78.2%).
• NKU’s 78.2 percent free-throw accuracy ranks third among all Division I programs.
• The Norse are knocking down 8.1 treys per game, ranking second among Horizon League squads.
• F Kasey Uetrecht led the Norse with a 15-point, seven-rebound, five-assist effort against Cleveland State on Thursday.
• Uetrecht (162) and F Rebecca Lyttle (150) are fifth and eighth, respectively, on NKU’s Division I season rebounding list.
• G Rianna Gayheart went 5-for-7 from the field and scored 14 points to go with six assists in Thursday’s win.
• Gayheart’s 14-point outburst equaled a season high, set on Dec. 2 against Kentucky.
• With 494 points, G Christine Roush lays claim to NKU’s highest season scoring total in the Division I era.
• Christine Roush leads the league and the nation in free-throw shooting (91.2%) and ranks third in the league in three-point shooting (39.3%).
• F Courtney Roush is one of the Horizon League’s most efficient shooters, ranking third overall (54.1%) and fourth in League games (52.9%).
• F Molly Franson knocked down six FGs in Thursday’s win, her best shooting effort since draining seven against Robert Morris on Nov. 29.
Last Time Out – A dominating defensive effort in the first quarter against Cleveland State helped put away a 71-59 win for the Norse in the Horizon League Championship opener. Kasey Uetrecht went for 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Rianna Gayheart added 14 points and six assists. Khayla Livingston led Cleveland State with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
About Valparaiso – The Crusaders advanced to the second round of the Horizon League Championship via a 94-91 overtime victory over Detroit. Jasmyn Walker led the way with 23 points while Meredith Hamlet had a 21-point game. The Crusaders drained 15 three-pointers in the win, including nine of their first 10 attempts.
Walker leads the Crusaders, scoring 12.2 points per game and grabbing 8.2 rebounds, while Hamlet, an All-Freshman team honoree, averages 10.8 points per game while shooting a team-best 38.6 percent from beyond the arc.
The Series – The all-time series between the teams is tied at a game a piece after each team won on the road during the 2015-16 regular season. Meredith Hamlet had a 23-point performance to lead Valpo to a 61-60 win on Dec. 30 at BB&T Arena, while the Norse used a 27-7 third quarter to post a 68-50 win at Valparaiso.
From NKU Athletics