A new era in Northern Kentucky women’s basketball tipped off on Monday night as the new-look Lady Norse opened their 2024-25 season against defending Conference USA member Middle Tennessee State at Truist Arena.
Playing their first game under first year coach Jeff Hans, the Lady Norse had all they could handle with
the Blue Raider speed and size, advantages that allowed MTSU to lead wire to wire and walk away with
a 79-58 win.
MTSU came out firing from the opening tip, hitting their first three shots from beyond the arc to take an
early 9-5 lead over NKU and they never looked back.
“Their inside game, their five starters are so good, and can compete at a high level,” said Hans when
asked what his impressions were of the Blue Raiders to open the game.
NKU managed to do what they could to stay close fighting to a 20-12 deficit to end the first quarter,
thanks to an Abby Wolterman up and under right before the horn.
The Blue Raiders opened the second quarter by going on a quick 7-0 run to extend the lead to 27-12
lead before a Jaci Jones three stopped the bleeding cutting it to 27-15.
Over the remainder of the second quarter, MTSU Outscored NKU 20-9 to take a 40-21 lead into the
locker room.
The Lady Norse struggled in the first half, shooting 8-28 (28.6%) from the field and 3-16 (18.8%) from
behind the arc.
NKU came out much more focused to start the second half. Freshman Halle Idowu tallied eight straight
points to bring the Norse to within 49-33 but a Blue Raider and-one put MTSU back up nineteen.
Idowu finished the third quarter with thirteen points.
Hans was impressed with the play of Idowu; “Halle coming in and playing her first game in a Norse uniform and how she competed, she came in and made some big perimeter shots to help us start the half.” Idowu would finish the night with eighteen points.
He cited the play too of sophomore Gabby Razzano who finished the night with eleven points, hitting
3-5 from behind the arc and grabbing six rebounds; “Gabby came in and made some big perimeter shots
for us and allowed us to bring their bigs out.”
The glaring stat that stood out was not what one would think given the Blue Raiders size inside, it was
the nineteen total turnovers for the Norse that resulted in twenty-two points for MTSU, close to what
the final margin ended up being.
The task doesn’t get any easier for NKU as they have a short turnaround before heading down I-75 to
take on No. 22 Kentucky on Thursday in Lexington.
Hans isn’t rattled after this one, he has a bigger view of what the season has in store for the Norse; “This
here starts our book and we have had the book started. Mount St. Joe was the Preface and each game is a chapter and everything we do leads to Horizon League play and leads to what we do in March in
Indianapolis. Chapter One wasn’t great, but there were some good things we did.”
