Katie Butler

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Katie Butler celebrated her 21st birthday Saturday afternoon by giving her Northern Kentucky University teammates a lesson in long-range shooting during the Norse’s game against Lewis.

With NKU trailing 22-17, Butler came off the bench and made two 3-point shots to ignite a 16-2 run that gave the Norse a 33-24 lead. The 6-foot-1 junior finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals as NKU coasted to a 75-65 win over Lewis in the Neil Carey Arena.

“Katie Butler did a great job of making the open shot from the perimeter, and that was a big key to this win,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. “We had a lot of people play very well in this game, and it’s a big road victory against a very talented Lewis team.”

Butler, who scored eight points in the first half, also added two assists in 21 minutes of action. She finished 3-for-6 from 3-point range.

Karmen Graham and Brittany Winner combined for 34 points and nine assists to lead the Norse offensive attack. Graham scored 18 points and had three assists for NKU, which improved to 23-4 overall, 16-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Winner added 16 points and six assists as the Norse rebounded from an upset loss at Wisconsin-Parkside on Thursday night, a setback that snapped NKU’s winning streak at 16 games.

“Karmen was tough inside, and (Brittany Winner) does a lot of things on the court that you don’t see on the stat sheet,” Winstel said. “I thought our entire team responded very well after the loss at Parkside, and this is a positive way to enter the GLVC Tournament.”

Cassie Brannen added 14 points, six rebounds and three steals for NKU, which is ranked No. 20 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll. The Norse led by as many as 17 points in the second half and won the GLVC East Division title outright over Lewis (18-9 overall, 14-5 GLVC).

Brannen, a candidate for GLVC Freshman of the Year honors, made all five of her attempts from the field and was 4-for-5 at the line.

Shante Glenn and Mary Moskal each scored 20 points to lead Lewis.

NKU will be the No. 1 seed from the East Division at the GLVC Tournament, which begins Thursday at Evansville, Ind. The Norse will meet Missouri-St. Louis (16-11 overall) in the first round in Roberts Stadium.

Missouri-St. Louis claimed the No. 4 seed from the West Division by posting a road win at Southern Indiana on Saturday. NKU defeated Missouri-St. Louis in their only meeting during the regular season, 66-57, at St. Louis, Mo.

NKU is ranked third in the latest NCAA II Great Lakes Region poll.

The pairings and times for the GLVC Tournament will be announced Saturday night. All GLVC Tournament games will be played in Roberts Stadium.

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