Brittany Winner

OWENSBORO, Ky. - Brittany Winner’s short jumper with 5.6 seconds remaining in the game gave the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team a 62-60 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday.

After Whitney Espenlaub made one of two free throws with 14 seconds left to tie the game at 60-all, NKU brought the ball up the floor to set up a final play. Winner, a 5-foot-10 junior forward, drove the lane and hit a running jumper to give the Norse a 62-60 lead with 5.6 seconds remaining.

After two timeouts, Kentucky Wesleyan’s Megan Fletcher attempted a 3-pointer that missed the mark at the buzzer, and NKU survived the upset bid to extend its winning streak to 16 consecutive games.

“We did not play our best game, but we did find a way to win at the end,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said.

Karmen Graham scored 17 points to lead NKU, which is ranked No. 21 in the NCAA Division II poll. Angela Healy added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Norse, who improved to 22-3 overall, 15-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

The 16-game winning streak is NKU’s longest since the 1999-2000 season, when the Norse ran off 24 consecutive victories en route to the NCAA Division II national championship.

NKU built a 50-41 lead with 10:21 left on a basket by Winner, but Kentucky Wesleyan (13-12 overall, 8-9 GLVC) used an 18-8 run to go up 59-58 on a jumper by LaTasha Henry with 1:11 remaining in the game. With 55 seconds left in the game, however, Henry was whistled for a technical foul after slamming the ball into the floor.

Karyn Creager converted both technical free throws to give NKU a 60-59 advantage, but the Norse turned the ball over on the ensuing possession. Espenlaub drew a foul with 14 seconds left and made one free throw, setting the stage for Winner’s go-ahead basket.

Nicole Chiodi finished with six points, 12 rebounds and two steals for NKU, which shot 47.1 percent from the field. The Norse also won the rebounding battle by a 38-26 margin and were perfect (11-for-11) from the free-throw line.

“We needed every one of them to win this game,” Winstel said of the free throws.

Creager added nine points and two assists for NKU, while Winner finished with six points. The Norse avenged last season’s 63-48 loss to Kentucky Wesleyan in the Owensboro Sportscenter and upped their lead in the all-time series to 44-4.

NKU closes out the regular season next week with road games at Wisconsin-Parkside (Thursday at 6:30 p.m.) and Lewis (Saturday at 2 p.m.). The Norse are ranked No. 2 in the latest NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region poll.

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