Connie Myers scored 17 points Saturday

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The day belonged to the seniors at Northern Kentucky University, but it was the underclassmen who sparked a huge second-half rally Saturday afternoon against Missouri-St. Louis.

Sophomore Brittany Winner drained a pair of key three-pointers early in the second half, sophomore Karmen Graham scored nine points during the final 20 minutes and freshman Angela Healy came off the bench to block five shots as NKU rallied from a 10-point deficit to knock off Missouri-St. Louis, 72-58, in Regents Hall. The Norse shot 76.2 percent from the field in the second half to pull out the victory on Senior Day.

Missouri-St. Louis (6-21 overall, 2-18 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference) closed the first half with a 21-6 run to take a 34-24 lead at the break. The Riverwomen held NKU to 36.8 percent shooting from the field in the first half and forced the Norse into 11 turnovers.

“I was not happy at halftime, and I let them know exactly how I felt,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. “We came out, and we did a much better job in the second half. We established our defensive intensity. We moved the ball on offense.

“We put the press on. Elizabeth (Burrows) thought it would be a good idea to press. As far as I’m concerned, I wasn’t so sure if we were going to guard anybody let alone press. But she convinced me that the press would probably be a good thing. When (Burrows) tells me something, I usually listen, especially when it works.”

NKU opened the second half with a 15-2 run and took a 39-36 lead on a three-pointer by Winner at the 14:43 mark. Two minutes later, Winner hit another three-pointer to give the Norse a 42-40 advantage and key an 18-3 run that would eventually stretch NKU’s lead to 57-43 with 7:51 left in the game.

NKU limited Missouri-St. Louis to 26.1 percent shooting from the field in the second half. The Norse also converted 13 of their 18 free throws during the final 20 minutes.

Brittany Winner scored 10 points

“We started pressing. We’ve been flat-footed, but the whole first half our defensive intensity didn’t get us started and it should have,” Burrows said. “Our defense just wasn’t there. Then, when we turn up our defense, then our offense starts to come up. I think that’s what happened. We just turned up our intensity on defense.”

Senior forward Connie Myers, playing in her final home game, led NKU with 17 points and was 9-for-9 at the free-throw line. She also added four assists and a blocked shot as the Norse improved to 16-11 overall, 13-7 in the GLVC.

“I really felt like our post-to-post was working well,” Myers said of her four assists. “I was finding our open post player down there. I know I found Karmen a couple of times, and I think it was just staying in our plays and reversing the ball and then looking at the basket at the right time.”

Karyn Creager scored 12 points for NKU, while Graham added 11 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots. Winner finished with 10 points for NKU, which collected 10 blocked shots as a team.

Healy had four of her five blocks in the second half, and she finished with five rebounds and five points. Burrows added six points, five rebounds and five assists in her final game in Regents Hall.

NKU will play in the GLVC Tournament on Friday at Evansville, Ind. The Norse will be the fifth seed in the GLVC Tournament and meet fourth-seeded Bellarmine in the first round at 1 p.m. (EST).

NKU and Bellarmine split in the regular season, with each team winning at home.

“I think we are two different teams. I think if the team that gets after it like they did against Quincy shows up, then we have a chance to win it,” Winstel said of the GLVC Tournament. “If the team that showed up in the first half today of this game shows up, we’ll be headed home real fast. It’s a challenge that we have. How bad do you want it? You’ve got to want it more than the next team.

“I think some days we want it really, really bad. Then, some days I don’t know if we are so sure. It’s not that we don’t want it, but I’m just don’t know if we are so sure. It’s just a challenge that we have every day.”