NKyTribune staff
Ally Niece and Ivy Turner combined for 48 points on Thursday night as the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team reached the 20-win mark for the first time since moving to Division I with a 78-58 triumph over Milwaukee in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament.
Niece poured in a career-high 27 points for NKU, which improved to 20-11. Turner added 21 points as the fourth-seeded Norse advanced to next week’s Horizon League Tournament semifinals in Indianapolis, where they will meet No. 2 seed Green Bay at 2:30 p.m. on Monday.
Milwaukee (15-16) owned a 33-27 lead with less than three minutes remaining before halftime, but NKU ended the quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 34-33 advantage into the locker room. The Norse outscored the Panthers 23-13 in the third quarter and led by as many as 24 points in the final stanza.
Molly Glick added 12 points for NKU, which shot 48.4 percent from the field. The Norse won the rebounding battle 38-25 and made 91.7 percent of their free throws.
NKU closed out its home season with an eight-game winning streak in BB&T Arena. The Norse finished 12-4 at home this season.
THOMAS MORE WOMEN PLAY PIKEVILLE: The women’s basketball Mid-South Conference Tournament begins Friday in Bowling Green, Ky. Campbellsville opens the tournament as the No. 1 seed after capturing the Mid-South Conference regular-season title with a 14-2 record. The Lady Tigers are ranked No. 2 nationally in the NAIA poll.
The Lady Tigers begin the tournament on Friday at 1 p.m. (Central time) when they face eighth-seeded Life (Ga.). Campbellsville (28-2) swept the season series against the Running Eagles (14-16).
Thomas More earned the No. 4 seed and will face fifth-seeded Pikeville at 3 p.m. The two schools split the season series, with the home team winning each time. Thomas More enters the tournament with a 20-9 record, while Pikeville is 16-14.
The semifinals are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday. The winner of the Campbellsville/Life game faces the winner of the Thomas More/Pikeville contest in the first semifinal. The second semifinal matchup features the winner of Lindsey Wilson/Georgetown (Ky.) and the winner of the Shawnee State/Cumberlands (Ky.) contest.
The championship game begins at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
Last season, Campbellsville won its fifth Mid-South Conference Tournament championship after beating Shawnee State in the finals, 64-50.
THOMAS MORE TRIO HONORED: Thomas More women’s basketball player Zoie Barth has been voted Mid-South Conference Freshman of the Year, while teammates Emily Schultz (first team All-MSC) and Courtney Hurst (second team All-MSC) also earned honors.
Barth, a Highlands High School graduate, averages 12.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Her 4.4 assists per game leads Thomas More, which is ranked No. 22 nationally in the NAIA poll.
GREEN BAY, UIC MEN ADVANCE: Green Bay and Illinois-Chicago recorded victories in the quarterfinals of the men’s basketball Horizon League Tournament on Thursday night, setting the semifinal brackets for Monday night in Indianapolis.
No. 3 seed Green Bay knocked off No. 6 seed Oakland by a 78-63 score and will meet No. 2 seed NKU at 9:30 p.m. Monday. No. 4 seed Illinois-Chicago posted a 67-61 win over No. 5 seed Youngstown State and will play top-seeded Wright State at 7 p.m. Monday in the other semifinal.
(Information compiled from NKU, the Mid-South Conference and staff reports)