Brittany Winner

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Danaea Williams scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Tuesday night to lead Central State (Ohio) to a 73-63 victory over Northern Kentucky University in Regents Hall.

Sultra Harding added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Marauders, who improved to 2-2. Central State used big spurts in each half to roll to the victory and defeat NKU for just the second time in history.

With the score tied at 24-24 in the first half, Central State went on a 12-2 run to build a 36-26 advantage. Williams scored four points during the spurt, while Tamaka Clay added a basket and a three-pointer to cap the run.

Williams used 6-for-10 shooting from the field - including a trio of three-point shots - to score her 15 first-half points. NKU actually led by as many as six points early in the game, but the 1-2 punch of Williams and Harding allowed Central State to take a 38-31 advantage at the break.

“I thought that Danaea Williams, who didn’t play last Wednesday in the game we scouted, really kept them in the game in the first half,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. “I thought their size was really tough for us to handle in that we gave up too many second shots.”

Harding exploded for nine points in the second half during a 25-14 run that extended Central State’s lead to 63-45 with 9:39 left in the game. NKU cut the deficit to 71-63 with 1:09 remaining on a three-pointer by Brittany Winner, but Central State held on and sent the Norse to their second straight home loss.

“I thought we struggled trying to execute our half-court offense. But we’re going to work hard and try to get better,” Winstel said. “We played two tough games early in the season. We could have been 2-0 playing teams that weren’t too good, but we played two really tough teams. We’re struggling trying to find ourselves as a team, but were going to stick together and work hard to get better.”

Sultra Harding boxes out Karmen Graham

Connie Myers led NKU (0-2) with 18 points and seven rebounds. Winner added 14 points and four rebounds for the Norse, who made just 27.6 percent of their shots from the field in the second half.

“Coming off of a loss to Georgetown, we really wanted to come back with a win,” Winner said. “We didn’t get the job done on defense. But I think we’re going to work hard, so that we can travel down to Kentucky Wesleyan and play tough there.”

Karyn Creager finished with 11 points for NKU, while Elizabeth Burrows dished out a team-leading six assists. The Norse held Central State to just 37.1 percent shooting from the field in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 18-point deficit.

Clay added 13 points and five assists for Central State, which is an independent in the NCAA Division II ranks. Chovonne Harris also scored in double figures with 11 points.

NKU is 0-2 for the first time since the 1996-97 season, when the Norse dropped consecutive games to Oakland (Mich.) and Lake Superior State. NKU is now 8-2 all-time against Central State, which recorded its only previous victory against NKU during the 1988-89 campaign.

NKU will begin Great Lakes Valley Conference play Friday at 6:15 p.m. with a road game at Kentucky Wesleyan. The Norse will also travel to Louisville, Ky., on Sunday for a 1 p.m. contest against Bellarmine.