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RENSSELAER, Ind. - If they were going to have a really bad game, maybe it was best to get it out of their system now rather than have it occur in the postseason. That is no doubt small consolation to the Norse women of Northern Kentucky University after watching their 12-game winning streak halted in shocking fashion by Saint Joseph’s, 65-58, Thursday in the Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse. Nor will it take away the sting of suffering a loss to a Saint Joseph’s squad in the throes of an 11-game losing streak. “It’s one game and we have to bounce back, but I thought I saw shades of December in tonight’s game, and I was disappointed in that,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. “I didn’t think we executed on offense, and there were a number of times we tried to force things without even passing the ball. We did not pass the ball well at all.” NKU entered the game ranked No. 24 nationally and had not lost since Jan. 6. The Norse already owned a 79-54 win over Saint Joseph’s earlier this season, and the Pumas were 0-10 against Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division opponents going into Thursday. Saint Joseph’s, in fact, was 0-7 at home against GLVC teams before Thursday and already had 21 losses. It started off well for NKU, to the tune of a 9-0 lead in the opening 3:10 of the game. Saint Joseph’s, however, countered with a 13-3 run to take a 13-12 lead. By halftime, the Pumas owned a 27-25 lead after holding NKU to 30.3 percent shooting from the field. The second half was more of the same for NKU, which made just 32.1 percent of its shots. The Norse also missed all nine of their attempts from 3-point range after the break and watched helplessly as Saint Joseph’s ended their 12-game winning streak. “We have been playing very well, and you wonder when you are going to have a bad game,” Winstel said. “I would rather lose on a last-second shot and play our butts off than kind of get embarrassed, because I didn’t think our effort was very good. Give Saint Joseph’s a lot of credit because they are not going to the GLVC Tournament, and they came out and played very well.” Allison Hughes scored 23 points to lead Saint Joseph's, which led by as many as 11 points in the second half. The Pumas finished with a 40-36 advantage on the boards. It marked the second straight year the Pumas pulled off the upset over NKU in the Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse. Last season, Saint Joseph’s held off the Norse, 50-47. Angela Healy led NKU with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Katie Butler scored 10 points for the Norse, who are 19-6 overall, 13-5 in the GLVC. Brittany Winner scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds for NKU, which closes out the regular season Saturday with a road game against Indianapolis at 5:30 p.m. Karyn Creager scored seven and now has 998 career points at NKU. BOX SCORE |
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