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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Having already knocked off defending NCAA Division II national champion Grand Valley State earlier this season, Bellarmine served notice to the Great Lakes Valley Conference it is a serious title contender. The Knights reinforced that message Saturday night during an 85-78 victory over No. 12 Northern Kentucky University, the defending GLVC Tournament champion and preseason favorite to win the GLVC East Division title. Bellarmine made 72.7 percent of its 3-point attempts, won the rebounding battle by a 35-26 margin and finished 29-for-37 from the free-throw line. Taylor Kopple and Angela Smith combined for 44 points to lead the Knights, who avenged a pair of losses to NKU last season. Kopple, a sophomore forward, scored a career-high 24 points and was 12-for-15 at the line. The Western Kentucky transfer also hauled down seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Smith tallied 18 of her 20 points in the second half. She also drained a trio of key 3-pointers for the Knights, who improved to 6-1 overall, 2-1 in the GLVC. NKU (4-2 overall, 1-2 GLVC) battled back from an eight-point deficit to close within a point of Bellarmine late in the first half, but Dana Beaven hit a 3-pointer right before the buzzer to give the Knights a 33-29 lead at the break. Beaven finished with 18 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots. NKU opened the second half with a 10-4 run and took a 39-37 lead with 16:19 remaining on a pair of free throws from Karyn Creager after Bellarmine head coach Dave Smith was hit with a technical foul. The Knights countered with a 24-12 spurt that was sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Smith. Creager's jumper with 3:29 left in the game cut the Bellarmine lead to 69-65, but NKU scored just one basket during the next two minutes. Bellarmine, meanwhile, made nine free throws in the final 57 seconds to seal the victory Angela Healy scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead NKU, which shot 51 percent from the field. Creager added 14 points and four assists, while Katie Butler scored 13 points off the bench. Brittany Winner finished with 11 points, two blocked shots and two assists, while teammate Nicole Chiodi added eight points, two blocks and three assists. Karmen Graham scored eight points for NKU, which owns a 41-26 lead in the all-time series with Bellarmine. A year ago, NKU posted an 82-70 win over Bellarmine in Knights Hall. Prior to that, however, NKU had not beaten the Knights on the road since 1999. NKU will take off next week for exams and next be in action Dec. 18 in the Travel America Classic in Regents Hall. The Norse will face Northern Michigan at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18. The following night at 7:30 p.m., NKU will meet defending national champion Grand Valley State. Nationally ranked Emporia State is also in the round-robin Travel America Classic. NKU will resume GLVC play Jan. 4 with a road game at Wisconsin-Parkside. |
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