Karmen Graham

DETROIT - Solid defense and excellent free-throw shooting usually add up to a victory in college basketball.

That was certainly the case Saturday afternoon as Northern Kentucky University cruised to a 76-48 win over Wayne State at the Matthaei Complex. The Warriors made just 27.5 percent of their shots from the field against the NKU defense, which recorded eight blocks.

Karmen Graham scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Norse, who improved to 3-0. Graham also added three assists for NKU, which used 37-for-46 shooting from the free-throw line to coast to the victory.

Graham, a junior forward from Kettering, Ohio, converted 11 free throws in 14 attempts. Two years ago in the same gym, Graham scored a career-high 28 points to lead NKU to a 69-62 win over Wayne State.

Karyn Creager made three 3-point shots and scored 14 points for the Norse. Creager drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the game as NKU jumped out to a 12-4 lead.

Katie Butler came off the bench and scored six of NKU’s next eight points as the Norse extended the lead to 20-6. Butler finished with 13 points for NKU, which placed all 11 players in the scoring column.

NKU built a 39-22 lead at halftime as Graham scored 13 points. The Norse used a 16-7 run to begin the second half to extend the advantage to 55-29 with 11:18 left in the game. Creager hit another 3-pointer and made three free throws to key the spurt, while Butler added five points during the run.

Nicole Chiodi scored seven points and had five rebounds for NKU, which gave head coach Nancy Winstel her 514th career victory. The Norse won the rebounding battle by a 44-37 margin as Angela Healy grabbed a game-high nine boards.

Healy also had six points and two blocks, while Creager and Cassie Brannen each recorded two blocked shots. Joy Nash and Chastidy Miller each scored 10 points to lead Wayne State, which dropped top 2-3.

NKU leads the all-time series with Wayne State, 6-0.

The Norse will begin Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. game against Rockhurst (Mo.) in Regents Hall.

Two days later in Regents Hall, NKU will entertain No. 2 Drury at 1 p.m.

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