The NKU Lady Norse looked to put Sunday’s tough loss to RMU behind them as they welcomed in league leader Ft. Wayne in hopes of pulling off their second upset in a week and keep pace for the fourth spot in conference and a potential home tournament game.
The Mastodons (21-6 overall, 16-1 HL) were coming off their first conference loss to Cleveland State (61-52) and looked to get back on track and solidify the top overall seed.
The Norse gave a valiant effort, but in the end, Ft. Wayne showed why they lead the Horizon League and are the favorites to win out as they took down the NKU 69-57.
Both teams struggled early to find the bottom of the basket, going 3 minutes before Macey Blevins hit a jumper to put the Norse up 2-0. Points continued to be hard to come by and the first television timeout saw Ft. Wayne ahead 7-6.
A Jaci Jones deep three on an assist from Abby Wolterman with 1:44 remaining in the quarter put NKU ahead 12-9, but it was short lived as PFW finished out strong on a 7-0 run and took a 16-12 lead.
The Mastodons wasted little time to start the second quarter going on a 12-2 run to extend their lead to 28-14 with 6:57 remaining in the half, mostly a result of Ft. Wayne pressure defense and NKU missed shots and turnovers. A Jones three-pointer at the 4:20 mark stopped the bleeding, cutting the deficit to 30-17.
Both teams traded baskets to end out the half and Ft. Wayne took a 36-23 lead into the locker room.
The first half saw NKU shoot 27% from the field (8-29) and 33% from behind the arc (4-12). The Norse were forced into 12 turnovers and were outscored in the paint 24-8.
Jones led NKU with 6 points while grabbing 5 rebounds. Halle Idowu pitched in 5 points to go with 4 rebounds and Blevins added 5.
The second half saw much of the same pressure from Ft. Wayne as they held on to their lead, extending it out to as much as 48-29 with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter.
NKU refused to go quietly. Kalissa Lacy caught fire and went on a 9-point run of her own hitting consecutive 3-pointers to draw the Norse to within 50-38. Noelle Hubert chipped in a layup and a deep three to cut the Ft. Wayne advantage to 54-45 heading to the fourth quarter.
Lacy continued her hot shooting by scoring 3 points to begin the quarter and the Norse were within six at 54-48. However, Ft. Wayne went on a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 63-50 and the NKU would get no closer.
For the game, the Norse shot 35% from the field (21-59) and 34% from behind the arc. Turnovers were the downfall for NKU as they were forced into 21 of them, resulting in 24 points for the Mastodons. The Ft. Wayne size was evident in the 50-24 advantage in the paint.
Lacy and Idowu led the Norse with 14 points each. Idowu grabbed a team high 8 rebounds. Noelle Hubert pitched in 8 points and grabbed 3 rebounds. Mya Meredith scored 6 points and pulled in 7 rebounds.
Coaches Corner:
“Tough one tonight with the way we have been playing lately, but when you play a team as good as Ft. Wayne with the things they can do and the way they can score fast, we put ourselves in a bad spot.”
“We showed a lot of fight, we were down 17 to 19 at one point and then within 6 minutes got to within 9. I liked our response there. Just can’t put yourself in that big of a hole early.”
The Good:
- Lacy had one of her better games of the season, shooting the ball well from behind the arc and keeping the Norse in the game. Lacy finished with 14 points on the night.
The Not-So-Good:
- Turnovers. Period. Norse were forced into 21 turnovers, resulting in a 24-13 scoring advantage for Ft. Wayne.
- Points in the paint. NKU lost the battle inside 50-24, a result of Ft. Wayne’s size advantage inside.
Next Up:
- NKU welcome in conference rival Wright State for the final home game of the season.
- NKU will also be celebrating Senior Day and the contributions of outgoing seniors Lacy, Meredith, Blevins, Jones, and Idowu, and Paige Hodgson.
Tip-off is set for 1:00pm.
