Brittany Winner attempts a shot Tuesday

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - They waited one year, two months and eight days for Georgetown (Ky.) to return to Regents Hall, the site of a 21-point loss to the NAIA powerhouse that started the 2004-05 season.

And, after 40 hard-fought minutes Tuesday night, the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team gained a form of redemption with a 57-51 victory against Georgetown in Regents Hall. The Norse used a 10-0 run late in the second to rally past the Tigers, who entered the game ranked No. 16 in the NAIA poll.

NKU improved to 15-3 overall, and the Norse extended their winning streak to nine consecutive games. Georgetown had its seven-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 16-5 with the setback.

NKU began the game by hitting eight of its first nine shots to build a 19-6 lead when Karyn Creager buried a jumper with 13:38 left in the half. Georgetown, however, employed full-court pressure, closed the half with a 17-6 run and trailed by just a 27-26 score at the break.

“I know we were fired up just because of what happened last year,” Creager said, referring to last season’s 85-64 loss to Georgetown. “When we started off, we were rolling. We got into foul trouble, and that slowed our intensity a little bit. The press got to us, and it was kind of the snowball effect.”

Georgetown’s press forced 15 NKU turnovers in the first half. The Tigers were also 12-for-16 at the free-throw line before halftime, while NKU made its only two attempts at the charity stripe.

“We were throwing the ball away. We didn’t execute and we didn’t make some baskets. We lost our momentum and intensity,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. “The thing about it is that we’re getting better offensively, but we just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing. When you start throwing the ball away, then all you’re doing is playing defense. Our defense won the game for us.”

Karyn Creager scores while being fouled

The Tigers used a 9-1 spurt early in the second half to build a 41-35 lead on a pair of free throws by Julie Leach. After a Meghan Hillman basket gave Georgetown a 45-40 advantage with 8:22 left in the game, NKU responded in big-time fashion.

Karmen Graham scored four straight points to bring NKU within 45-44 with 6:38 remaining in the game. Cassie Brannen then made one of two free throws to tie the score at 45-all, and the freshman post player’s basket later gave NKU a 47-45 lead with 4:40 left.

Creager capped the 10-0 run by sinking a jumper while being fouled. She finished off the conventional three-point play by making the free throw to give NKU a 50-45 advantage with 3:54 remaining.

NKU held Georgetown to 26.9 percent shooting from the field and beat the Tigers by 10 (41-31) on the boards. The Norse also forced Georgetown sophomore Kim Ingle - who entered the game averaging 19.4 points - into a 3-for-17 shooting performance from the field.

Ingle, who netted 27 points to lead the Tigers past NKU a year ago, finished with 10 points Tuesday night.

“Kim Ingle is a great player. She’s as good of a perimeter player as anybody that we play,” Winstel said. “What we tried to do is deny her the ball as much as possible, and make her work to get the ball. We put Karyn Creager on her, we put Betsey Clark on her and we put (Brittany Winner) on her.”

Creager led NKU with 12 points, while Winner added nine points, four assists and five rebounds. Angela Healy scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds. The 6-foot-1 sophomore center also had five steals and two blocked shots.

Healy also made a key 3-point shot in the second half that began a momentum swing for NKU.

Cassie Brannen fights for position

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