The Northern Kentucky women’s basketball team dropped a heartbreaking decision to visiting Milwaukee on Thursday at BB&T Arena, 52-49. NKU led for the majority of the game, but drops to 2-10 overall and 0-1 in the Horizon League with the loss. Milwaukee moves to 9-4 (1-0 HL).
STAT LEADERS
· Grace White had a career night with 15 points behind 6-of-11 shooting. She added a team-best eight rebounds as well as three steals.
· Molly Glick also reached double figures, adding 10 points to the Norse cause.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
Stingy Norse defense forced six first-quarter turnovers by the Panthers and NKU held a 14-10 advantage through the first 10 minutes.
Spanning the first and second quarters, Northern Kentucky went on a 13-0 run and held Milwaukee scoreless for more than seven minutes.
NKU went into intermission with a 10-point lead, 32-22, taking advantage of 14 miscues from the visitors, which the home team turned into a 13-4 margin in points off turnovers.
The Norse also had a 16-12 advantage in rebounds and 20-6 lead in points in the paint.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
· Milwaukee outscored Northern Kentucky, 13-12, in the third quarter, but the Norse took a nine-point lead into the fourth after scoring the final six points of the frame.
· The Panthers flipped the script on the Norse in the fourth quarter, forcing seven turnovers and limiting NKU to 1-of-9 shooting.
· With under 20 seconds remaining, NKU ran a play that cleared the path for Samari Mowbray to take an open 3-pointer, but the shot barely missed the mark. A final free throw by UWM with .7 seconds remaining sealed the victory for the Panthers.
NORSE NOTES
· NKU shot 43.8 percent in the first half, but dropped in efficiency to finish the contest at 33.9 percent.
· The Norse out-rebounded the top rebounding margin team in the Horizon League, 35-27. Entering the contest, Milwaukee held a +10.6 rebound margin, good for 20th in the nation.
· The Norse forced 20 turnovers for the second-straight game. The Panthers made 22 miscues, resulting in 15 points off turnovers for NKU. Half of the turnovers came from steals, with White and Jazmyne Geist swiping three apiece.
· NKU also held the edge in paint scoring, 24-16.
· Milwaukee advances to 4-1 in the all-time series.
UP NEXT
Northern Kentucky stays home at BB&T Arena for a Saturday afternoon tilt against No. 19 Green Bay. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and the game will be carried on ESPN3.
#TakeNotice
Chloe Smith
Assistant Athletic Communications Director
Northern Kentucky University
