Connie Myers

QUINCY, Ill. - The battle for first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference was decided by halftime Saturday, and one look at turnovers told the entire story for Northern Kentucky University.

NKU committed 16 turnovers against Quincy in the first half, trailed by 22 points at the break and was unable to overcome the huge deficit as the Lady Hawks pinned a 65-50 loss on the Norse at the Pepsi Arena. Quincy regained sole possession of first place in the GLVC with a 10-3 record, and the Lady Hawks improved to 13-7 overall.

“I told the players Quincy would be fired up for this game because they just lost at home to Bellarmine on Thursday,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. “I was disappointed with our play in the first half.”

NKU (12-8 overall) dropped out of a first-place tie with Quincy in falling to 9-4 in the GLVC. The Lady Hawks snapped the Norse’s eight-game win streak and handed NKU its first loss since Dec. 30.

It also marked the fourth consecutive time during the past two seasons that Quincy has beaten NKU. A year ago, the Lady Hawks posted three victories against the Norse.

Quincy shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half and coasted to a 38-16 lead at the break. The Lady Hawks used a 25-9 run to close out the first half.

Jessica Stuckman finished with a game-high 25 points for Quincy, which was coming off a 78-64 loss to Bellarmine on Thursday. Stuckman shot 10-for-17 from the field and also grabbed seven rebounds.

Connie Myers scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead NKU, which was held to 36 percent shooting from the field. Myers has now scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games.

Sarah Woods hit a trio of three-point shots in the second half and finished with nine points for NKU, which could never cut the Quincy lead under 10 points in the second half. The Norse, playing without injured center Karmen Graham, received eight points and four rebounds from freshman Angela Healy.

“We played much better in the second half, and Sarah Woods made some big shots for us,” Winstel said.

Brittany Winner scored seven points for NKU, and teammate Karyn Creager added five points. NKU finished with 24 turnovers.

NKU will return home and play host to Southern Indiana at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.