NKU’s Hans gets 1st Norse win
After opening losses against Middle Tennessee (79-58) and at Kentucky (70-41), new coach Jeff Hans got his first win for the NKU Lady Norse on the road Saturday at defending Sun Belt Conference champion Marshall. For Hans, the NCAA’s winningest women’s coach after his multiple NCAA and NAIA national championship runs at Thomas More, the 80-78 win came on a dramatic three-point shot from Macey Blevins.
But the winning difference in this game came at the hands of graduate transfer Halle Idowu, a 5-foot-11 Chicagoan who played two years each at Northeastern and Toledo before her arrival in Highland Heights, who fired in a career-high 29 points.
Idowu hit on 13 of 18 from the field while also grabbing eight rebounds, with two steals and two blocked shots. Off the bench, Kalissa Lacy added 12 points thanks to three three-pointers while recording four rebounds and four assists as NKU hit for 41.7 percent (10 of 24) from long range.
That was a long way from NKU’s 41-point night two days earlier when a UK team with four players 6-3 or more blocked 16 NKU shots. Blevins game-winner came on an inbounds play that started with 4.5 seconds left and had the ball come back to the inbounding Blevins for a corner three beating the buzzer.
The NKU women host Cedarville Friday at Truist Arena at 6 p.m. in their next game.
Thomas More football halts 5-game losing streak
TMU’s Saints got back onto the winning side of the ledger in a big way Saturday at home, ending a five-game losing streak with a 47-12 romp over Kentucky Wesleyan as TMU kept possession of the Bourbon Barrel trophy for another year. The win improves TMU to 4-6 overall on the season and 3-5 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
Redshirt junior running back Jaden Hall out of Springfield, Ohio, led the way with three touchdowns on 117 rushing yards. Tight end Mike Kirch from Cincinnati Elder scored two TDs on his four catches. Quarterback Griffin Scalf from Cincinnati Anderson threw for 200 yards on nine of 10 passing with wide receiver Freddie Johnson from Cincinnati Colerain catching three for 121 yards and one TD. The Saints outgained KWC 414 yards to 301 with 231 of those in the passing game.
Thomas More finishes up the season Saturday in Painesville, Ohio, against the Lake Erie College Storm in a game that kicks off at 1 p.m.
Home loss mars TMU hoops opener
Only one Thomas More player seemed to be able to solve the Drury College defense in TMU’s season-opening 63-54 loss. Sophomore Cam McClain, a 6-foot-2 guard from Louisville Trinity, was the lone Saint in double figures, firing in 19 points.
But in a game where TMU hit just 38.3 percent (18 of 47) from the field, 26.9 percent from three-point range (7 of 26), the offense just wasn’t there. Junior Mitchell Rylee out of Covington Catholic pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds with four assists and six points. Returnees Wyatt Vieth (St. Henry) scored nine points with four rebounds while Casey George (Pickerington, Ohio) recorded seven points, nine rebounds and three assists.
TMU returns to action Saturday hosting the Connor Classic against Kent State Tuscarawas in a 7:30 game.
Tough start for TMU women’s basketball at Wisconsin tourney
New coach Brian Neal’s Lady Saints fell short against a pair of Michigan schools in the JustAGame Crossover Tournament in Wisconsin Dells, Wisc., over the weekend. TMU opened with a 48-46 overtime loss to Northern Michigan Friday and followed that up with a 73-59 loss to Michigan Tech Saturday.
Rylee Turner (Newport Central Catholic) led the Saints in Game 1 with nine points and nine rebounds while Morgan Hunt (Hollandsburg, Ohio) added nine points with five rebounds.
In the Saturday game, Laney Baker (West Harrison, Ohio) led TMU with 12 points with a pair of assists and a rebound. Desiree Tandy (Danville, Ky.) added 11 points with three rebounds.
The TMU women (0-2) return to action Friday at noon hosting the Connor Classic against another Michigan team, Grand Valley State.