The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team took a first-half lead and weathered several attempted Youngstown State comebacks to take the 70-59 victory over the Penguins on Thursday night in Horizon League action.
Shar’Rae Davis finished with a game-high 15 points for the Norse (17-11, 9-8 Horizon). Courtney Roush added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists in her first start of the season. Christine Roush and Kasey Uetrecht each scored 12 points while Rebecca Lyttle scored nine. Indiya Benjamin led the Penguins (18-10, 9-8 Horizon) in scoring with 13 points, 11 of them in the second half.
NKU won the tip and quickly got the scoring started as Christine Roush drained a three-point shot. The game was tied three different times in the first but the Norse forged ahead by four points to lead 17-13 going into the second quarter.
NKU grew its lead to as much as five points over Youngstown State in the second quarter but the Penguins had an answer. Nikki Arbanas scored eight of her 10 points in the quarter at to keep the Penguins close as NKU took a 32-28 lead into the locker room.
A 10-3 run by the Norse in the middle stages of the third quarter pushed the NKU lead as high as 11 points at 47-36 with 2:21 to go in the period. Youngstown State battled back to bring it within six points but back-to-back three-pointers from Uetrecht and Lyttle gave the Norse a 55-43 lead going into the final quarter of play.
Uetrecht’s three to open the fourth gave NKU its largest lead of the night at 58-43. Youngstown State used some outside shooting to pull to within eight points with 3:40 to go, but the Norse took care of business at the free-throw line down the stretch, icing the victory.
NKU is back in action again on Saturday, March 5, closing out the regular season against Cleveland State. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as the Norse will honor seniors Courtney Roush, Christine Roush, and Rianna Gayheart as they play their final regular-season games at BB&T Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. with the action carried live on ESPN3.
Norse Notes
· With the win, NKU pulled into a tie with Youngstown State for fifth place in the Horizon League standings. An NKU win on Saturday or a Youngstown State loss to Wright State on Sunday will secure the No. 5 seed in next week’s Horizon League Championship.
· NKU shot 43.6 percent (24-for-55) from the field while Youngstown State shot 36.8 percent (21-for-57).
· Courtney Roush’s five assists marked a career high for the senior, topping her previous best of three, set last week at Milwaukee.
From NKU Athletics