By Chloe Smith
NKU Athletics Communication
Northern Kentucky women’s basketball secured its first win of the 2016-17 Horizon League schedule, outlasting Youngstown State at home in overtime, 87-81. With the win, the Norse advance to 5-11 overall and 1-3 in League play while the Penguins drop to 4-10 (0-3 HL).
Stat Leaders
· Senior forward Rebecca Lyttle tied her career high of 23 points to lead the team in scoring while also recording her third double-double of the season and fifth of her career with 11 rebounds. Additionally, she added a season-best four assists.
· Junior forward Kasey Uetrecht also recorded a double-double with 22 points and a career-best 16 rebounds, 15 of which were defensive.
· Junior guard Mikayla Terry and senior guard Shar’Rae Davis also scored in double digits, with 16 and 11 points, respectively. Terry led the team with five assists while Davis dished out four.
First Half Summary
· The Norse were quick to convert on opportunities in the opening quarter, leading the Penguins by an 18-13 tally at the end of the first 10 minutes. It ties the most points that NKU has scored in the opening period, when the team also poured in 18 points against ETSU on Nov. 26.
· NKU gave a balanced offense in the first quarter, led by five points from Uetrecht and two from Lyttle and Davis. The Norse also enjoyed an efficient shooting percentage, connecting on 61.5 percent of their shots from the field.
· Smooth shooting continued into the second quarter with NKU scoring at a .571 clip. The defensive effort also improved, holding YSU to 38.9 percent from the field in the quarter.
· The Norse led at the half, 42-29. NKU has won all four games in which it held a lead at halftime. The 42 points also mark the most that the Norse have scored in the first half.
· Terry and Uetrecht both reached double figures by the close of the first half, with Terry leading all scorers with 11 points while Uetrecht chipped in 10 points and added a game-high eight rebounds.
· NKU committed just five turnovers in the half.
Second Half Summary
· Youngstown State stepped up in the third quarter, but the Norse kept the Penguins at a distance by outscoring YSU 16-15. Lyttle led the team in scoring with eight points to match her previous season high of 16 points.
· The Penguins made a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter to close the scoring gap to 64-60. YSU trailed by as little as one, 71-70, with 11 seconds remaining, and used a free throw to knot the score at 71-71 to send the game into overtime.
· Youngstown State posted 27 points in the fourth quarter, holding NKU to 13. The Penguins shot 52.9 percent from the field while the Norse had their lowest shooting quarter at 33.3 percent.
Overtime Summary
· Lyttle opened up scoring with an elbow jumper to give the Norse back the lead, 73-71. She led the Norse in scoring with six points.
· NKU scored the bulk of its points off a flawless performance at the free throw line, sinking 10 from the charity stripe on as many attempts.
· Uetrecht added four points and four rebounds for all of NKU’s rebounds of the overtime period.
Norse Notes
· NKU advanced to 4-1 in the all-time series against Youngstown State, and has not lost to the Penguins since joining the Horizon League in the 2015-16 season.
· NKU shot 51.9 percent from the field while YSU shot 41.5 percent. The Norse also had their best showing of the season from the free throw line, going 24-of-29.
· The 87 points scored are a season high for the Norse.
· NKU out-rebounded the Penguins, 37-29. The Norse also had the edge in points off turnovers, 13-10, and second-chance points, 14-7.
· The Norse never trailed for the entirety of the game, leading since Lyttle made the first basket of the contest 39 seconds in.
· NKU is 4-0 this season when leading at the half, 2-0 when shooting over 50 percent, and 1-1 in overtime games.
· Both Lyttle and Uetrecht recorded double-doubles. It marks the first time this season that two Norse have had double-doubles in the same game. The duo also posted 20 points apiece, which is the first time since Feb. 18, 2016 against Detroit Mercy, that NKU has had two players with at least 20 points in the same game. The NKU alumnae sister combo of Courtney (29) and Christine (24) Rousch last accomplished the feat.
· NKU had three players score 15 points or more: Lyttle (23), Uetrecht (22) and Terry (16). The last time three Norse scored 15 points or more in the same game was on Nov. 15, 2015 against Indiana State. Uetrecht had 18 points, Lyttle scored 17 and NKU alumna Christine Rousch scored 15 points.