Connie Myers scored 22 points Tuesday

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Her 500th career victory will get the most attention, but don’t try to convince Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball head coach Nancy Winstel that win No. 499 wasn’t just as important as the impending milestone.

Winstel’s Norse presented her with an early Christmas gift - and her 499th career coaching win - Tuesday night in the form of a 67-61 come-from-behind victory over Fort Valley State in the consolation game of the Sunday Challenger Classic in Regents Hall. NKU improved to 4-6 with the win, which was anything but easy against the quicker Lady Wildcats.

Fort Valley State (5-4) bolted out to a 21-5 lead just five minutes into the game as guard Sherika Tarpkins scored 11 points and added five steals. The Lady Wildcats eventually took a 31-14 advantage with 8:51 left in the first half on a basket by Amanda Ray, but NKU countered in a big way.

The Norse closed the first half with a 14-6 run to get within 37-28 at the break. NKU then scored the first six points of the second half - all by Connie Myers - to pull within 37-34.

“We got off to such a lousy start, but we just hung in there,” Winstel said. “We tried to make plays and tried to stay together and not fall apart. We tried not to let (Fort Valley State) get up by 50.

“Our free throw shooting kept us in the game in the first half and our inside play got us ahead in the second. I thought we made some stops. We made some plays. We still turned the ball over too much but not as much as we did the other night, so that’s a plus. It is good to go into the Christmas break with a win, and that’s important. We just have to hang in there and stay with it.”

Myers scored 19 of her 22 points in the second half, including an inside basket that made her the 21st player in Norse women’s basketball history to join the 1,000-point club. The senior forward dominated the post in the second half and finished the game 7-for-14 from the field and 8-for-12 at the line.

Amanda Ray (5) blocks out Brittany Winner

Karmen Graham, who kept NKU close in the first half with 11 points, finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Graham was 7-for-10 from the floor, and she was 8-for-9 from the line.

Myers and Graham both were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Brittany Winner added key minutes off the bench for NKU, and the sophomore forward finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and five steals. She also helped slow down Tarpkins with her defense.

“I played point guard in high school, but I haven’t done that here, so it’s not something that I’ve never done,” Winner said. “I look at it as a challenge. I look at it as a vote of confidence from coach because she has faith in me that I can do it. I take it as a compliment from coach.”

Elizabeth Burrows dished out eight assists and had three steals for NKU, which used a 14-2 spurt midway through the second half to turn a 50-48 deficit into a 62-52 lead.

Myers keyed that spurt with six points, while Graham and Burrows each drained three-pointers during the run. Burrows had seven assists in the second half.

“A lot of the assists aren’t to my credit. They go to Connie because she made me give her the ball,” Burrows said. “She was wide open. Connie created the spacing, and it wasn’t just a great pass, it was a great post move. In the first half we were more up, so she wasn’t down on the blocks as much.

Karmen Graham scored 23 points

“When she went down to the blocks, we were able to move the ball a little more. We just started out horrible. We weren’t moving the ball at all, and last night we moved the ball so well, so it could only get better.”

Tarpkins led Fort Valley State with 20 points, while Ray added 14 points and seven rebounds. NKU shot 60.9 percent from the field in the second half and held Fort Valley State to 30 percent from the floor the final 20 minutes.

The triumph left Winstel just one victory shy of joining the 500-victory plateau, something only five other coaches have done at the NCAA Division II level.

Winstel is now 499-198 in her 25-year collegiate coaching career that includes three seasons at Midway (Ky.). Her 499 career victories rank sixth among NCAA Division II head coaches. In 22 years at NKU, Winstel owns a 460-157 record.

NKU will travel to Midland, Mich., next week and play Ferris State at 1 p.m. on Dec. 30. The Norse will also meet Northwood (Mich.) at 3 p.m. Dec. 31.