Kasey Uetrecht and Christine Roush each reached double figures for the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team against Green Bay, but it was the Phoenix that came away with the win in a defensive struggle, 52-40, at the Kress Event Center.
Roush finished with 14 points and Uetrecht added 12 points and five rebounds as the Norse fell to 16-11 overall and 8-8 in Horizon League play with two games to go in the regular season. Green Bay (25-3, 15-1 Horizon) was led by Mehryn Kraker, who had 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, as Jessica Lindstrom picked up a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Norse defense was on point in the early going, holding Green Bay scoreless on its first eight shot attempts while opening on a 7-0 run in the game’s first five minutes. Green Bay found the basket in the late stages of the quarter, and tied things up at 7-7 at the end of the period.
The Phoenix found the basket in the second quarter, extending a 16-2 run that spanned the quarter break to take a 16-9 lead with 5:30 to go until half. The Norse got back to their rhythm shooting, but went to the locker room with an eight-point deficit, 24-16.
Treys from Christine Roush and Uetrecht cut the deficit as low as two points in the third quarter, at 29-27, but a 7-0 run by Green Bay pushed the lead back to nine points at 36-27 at the 3:06 mark in the quarter.
The Norse return home for the final weekend of the 2015-16 regular season. The action begins on Thursday as NKU welcomes Youngstown State. Tipoff at BB&T Arena is set for 7 p.m., with the action carried live on ESPN3.
NORSE NOTES
· The NKU defense held Green Bay to its lowest point total in Horizon League play at 52 points.
· With 448 points on the season, Christine Roush lays claim to the second-highest single-season scoring total for NKU in the Division I era, and needs 21 points to pass Melody Doss’s 468 point season in 2013-14 for the top spot.
NKU men win, earn No. 8 seed in league tourney
Northern Kentucky earned the No. 8 seed in the Little Caesar’s Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship after falling to Youngstown State, 94-75, at the Beeghly Center on Saturday night.
Cole Murray led the Norse with 13 points and a career-high-tying seven boards, a mark he set when the two squads met earlier this season.
Drew McDonald added 12 points and eight rebounds and Jalen Billups converted 4-of-5 shots for 10 points. He chipped in with five boards and two blocks.
The Norse trailed 46-29 at the break despite nine points from Todd Johnson and Billups’ eight points and five rebounds.
A spirited Norse effort to open the second-half put them within striking distance.
Baskets from Jordan Garnett, Murray, Lavone Holland II and Tyler White helped NKU open the second half on a 9-3 spurt before forcing a YSU timeout. McDonald converted consecutive baskets to extend the run to 13-3 and pull within nine, 49-40, with 16 minutes left.
The Norse were able to get within five twice, first with Deontae Cole’s trey and a then again with 10:18 remaining on a Jake Giesler jumper that put the score at 60-55.
Six-unanswered from the Penguins pushed the deficit back to double-figures, and YSU used the free throw line down the stretch to reach the final score.
The next stop for the Norse is the Motor City, Detroit, where it will play in the Little Caesar’s Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship for the first time. As the eight-seed, NKU will play in the 2:30 p.m. time slot on Saturday, March 5.
Norse Notes
· When the two teams met on Jan. 14, Cole Murray had 11 points and seven rebounds.
· McDonald has now reached double-figures in 15 of the last 20 games.
From NKU Athletics