Cleveland State held on to defeat the Northern Kentucky women’s basketball team by a final score of 70-65 on Monday evening. The Vikings improve to 12-6 overall and 4-3 in Horizon League play, while NKU falls to 4-13 and 2-4 in the league.
STAT LEADERS
Grace White posted a new career high with 18 points, also adding six rebounds.
Molly Glick also poured in 18 points fueled by a career night from long range, going 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Kailey Coffey posted the first double-double of her career with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Mikayla Terry added eight points, three assists, three rebounds.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
After falling behind 6-0 in the early part of the first quarter, NKU battled back tie the game at 8-8. The Norse went on to take a 20-19 lead into the second quarter, led by White with eight points.
The first half featured six ties and 14 lead changes.
Cleveland State took a 32-29 lead into the half.
The Norse shot 10-of-26 (38.5%) from the floor in the first half, and Cleveland State went 12-of-30 (40.0%) on field goals.
NKU had a 20-16 rebounding advantage in the first half. The Norse also scored 14 points in the paint, compared to eight for Cleveland State.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
The game was evenly-matched for most of the third quarter, but Cleveland State managed to take a 54-46 lead into the fourth quarter thanks to critical 3-pointers from Khayla Livingston.
The Vikings extended their lead to 12 points in the fourth quarter, but the Norse battled back to get the game to one possession with 1:05 remaining in the contest.
NKU got the ball back trailing 68-65 in the final seconds, but the Norse weren’t able to make a shot. Cleveland State knocked down a pair of free throws with two seconds left to preserve the 70-65 win.
The Norse shot 10-of-31 (32.3%) in the half, while Cleveland State went 15-of-27 (55.6%) from the floor.
NKU had a 24-12 rebounding advantage in the half, which included 16 offensive rebounds.
NORSE NOTES
Three NKU players scored in double figures during the game. NKU has had two players score at least 15 points in back-to-back games, with Coffey and Glick scoring 17 and 15, respectively, against Wright State on Saturday evening.
NKU shot 20-of-57 (35.1%) from the floor, and Cleveland State went 27-of-57 (47.4%) on field goals.
The Norse had a 44-28 rebound advantage in the game. NKU also had a 19-8 advantage in second-chance points.
UP NEXT
NKU hosts Horizon League-leading IUPUI on Friday, Jan. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at BB&T Arena with the game broadcast live on ESPN3
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Chloe Smith
Assistant Athletic Communications Director
Northern Kentucky University
