Connie Myers drives for a basket

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Winning streaks are nothing new for the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball program, but this one could not have come at a better time.

NKU extended its current win streak to three Saturday by routinely dispatching Southern Illinois at Edwardsville, 62-45, in Regents Hall. The Norse held SIUE to just 23.8 percent shooting from the field in the second half and improved to 3-5 overall, 3-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

The Norse have now posted three straight victories against GLVC opponents to block out the memory of an 0-5 start. And it’s been a group effort by NKU.

“Our strength is the power of the group,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. “On any given night, anyone can step up and make the play.”

That’s exactly what happened Saturday.

SIUE (5-5 overall, 1-3 GLVC) led by as many as eight points in the first half, but the inside attack of Connie Myers and Karmen Graham rallied NKU to a 31-29 advantage at the break. Myers scored 12 of her game-high 23 points in the first half, while Graham added five points.

Those two also keyed a run in the final minute that turned a 29-27 SIUE lead into the two-point halftime edge for NKU.

Myers scored on a breakaway while being fouled with three seconds left before the half to tie the score at 29-29. She missed the ensuing free throw, but freshman Nicole Chiodi kept the ball alive and Graham followed with a basket at the buzzer to give the Norse a 31-29 advantage.

Despite shooting 52.2 percent from the field and holding NKU to 37.9 percent from the floor, SIUE found itself trailing by two points at halftime. Winstel thought the two plays to end the first half made a big difference in the game.

“Six seconds left on the clock and (Graham) makes a great defensive play. Connie races down the floor and scores and gets fouled, and then Nicole Chiodi gets her hand in, and (Graham) hits a shot at the buzzer. It was huge,” Winstel said. “It gave us some energy, it gave us some momentum coming back into the second half.

“In the second half, I think we just made things happen.”

Myers and Graham combined for NKU’s first six points of the second half as the Norse built a 37-30 lead. Angela Healy later keyed a 10-0 Norse run with a pair of baskets as NKU increased its lead to 49-36 with 9:52 remaining.

Karmen Graham powers past Tanya Guell

NKU’s defense limited SIUE to five field goals in the second half. In fact, the Cougars managed just one basket for more than seven minutes during one stretch after halftime.

Myers grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for NKU, which won the battle of the boards by a 37-29 margin. The Norse shot 41.8 percent from the field and forced 19 SIUE turnovers.

“I think they are one of the first teams that hasn’t doubled down on me,” Myers said of the SIUE defense. “I tried to go baseline more because coach told me when I go middle, I have two people on me. But when I go baseline one-on-one, that helps, too.”

Graham finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Nikki Perkins added eight points and three assists as NKU gave Winstel her 498th career coaching victory.

Winstel is 498-197 in 25 years as a head coach and ranks sixth on the NCAA Division II list for victories. She is 459-156 in 22 years at NKU.

“ I thought Karyn Creager’s two threes were huge in the first half,” Winstel said. “She just went in there and shot the ball. I thought Nikki played solid. We just have to keep getting better.”

Myers now has 955 career points at NKU, and she is looking top become the 21st member of the Norse’s 1,000-point club.

Julianne McMillen led SIUE with 10 points. NKU upped its lead in the all-time series against SIUE to 17-7.

NKU will play host to the inaugural Sunday Challenger Classic Dec. 20-21 in Regents Hall. The Norse will face Shaw (N.C.) at 7:30 p.m. in the first round.

Glenville State will take on Fort Valley (Ga.) State in the other first-round game at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 20.