By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter
Not by design, but rather out of necessity, two freshmen guards are in the starting lineup for the second straight year at Northern Kentucky University.
That’s why Tuesday night’s 67-42 loss to Saint Louis had to be especially frustrating for the NKU coaching staff. With Ally Niece and Taylor Clos — two sophomore guards who began last season as starters — both battling injuries, the Norse have turned to freshmen Carissa Garcia and Ivy Turner in the backcourt.
NKU dropped a 69-62 decision at Eastern Kentucky last week with the two freshmen starting and combining for 34 points, seven assists and six steals. But against Saint Louis, Garcia and Ivy were held to just a combined 2-for-17 shooting from the field and seven points in the Norse’s home opener.
“They’re getting a lot of great experience,” Kleifgen said. “They’ve been thrown into the fire a little bit the first couple of games. I thought we were going to have Ally back tonight to really help them along…that obviously didn’t go our way.
“I think we’re going to be better in the long run of the season because of it. Like any freshmen, they’re going to go through some growing pains. They’re quick off the bounce. They can really get to the basket.”
Nothing, however, worked on Tuesday night against the visiting Billikens. Saint Louis scored the game’s first 12 points and never trailed. The Billikens (3-0) limited NKU to 24.1 percent shooting from the field and led by as many as 28 points in the second half.
Niece, the sophomore guard from Simon Kenton who was named to the Horizon League’s All-Freshman Team last season, saw action in three minutes during the first half before leaving the game with an undisclosed injury. She did return to the bench in the second half, but appeared to be walking with a limp.
Clos, a Campbell County graduate who led NKU in scoring last season (10.1 points per game), has sat out the first two contests nursing a leg injury. Clos is expected to return to the lineup soon, according to Kleifgen.
“She’s day-to-day,” Kleifgen said. “It’s nothing serious. We’re just monitoring it. It’s early in the season, so we’re not taking any risks.”
“Saint Louis plays great defense, and they were really clogging up the paint on us,” Kleifgen said. “When we were driving, they were sinking in and we had to kick it out and make some [3-pointers].”
NKU finished just 3-for-17 from 3-point range. The Norse grabbed 17 offensive rebounds but finished with only seven second-chance points.
“We need to capitalize and score on more of those (offensive rebounding) opportunities,” Kleifgen said.
Molly Glick led NKU with 10 points, while Kailey Coffey added eight points and a team-best eight rebounds. Grace White came off the bench and netted nine points — all in the second half.
Garcia dished out five assists to lead the Norse, who committed 17 turnovers. Tuesday’s game marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Saint Louis, a member of the Atlantic 10, posted a 15-16 overall record last season. The Billikens finished 9-7 in the A-10.
NKU hits the road for Nashville on Friday to meet Lipscomb at 7:30 p.m.
SAINT LOUIS 67, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 42
SAINT LOUIS (67)
Clark 1-3 2-4 4, Kent 7-9 0-0 19, Harbison 6-13 7-7 19, Flowers 3-8 1-2 7, Wilken 4-10 7-9 15, Smith Traore 0-0 0-0 0, Hughes 0-0 0-0 0, Rice 0-2 0-0 0, Martinez 0-0 1-2 1, Mikkelsen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-46 20-26 67.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY (42)
Garcia 1-11 3-4 5, Turner 1-6 0-0 2, Glick 3-15 2-2 10, Coffey 2-6 4-5 8, Rose 1-4 0-0 2, Souder 2-4 2-2 6, White 4-5 0-0 9, Lewis 0-3 0-0 0, Niece 0-1 0-0 0, Irvin 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 14-58 11-13 42.
HALFTIME: SLU 31-23 . 3-POINTERS: (NKU 3-17, SLU 5-11). REBOUNDS: NKU 36 (Coffey 8), SLU 37 (Flowers, Wilken 8).
RECORDS: Saint Louis 3-0, NKU 0-2.