 |
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - In terms of winning streaks, something had to give Thursday night when Northern Kentucky University clashed with powerful Drury. And in front of a raucous crowd of 1,573 in Weiser Gym, a venue in which Drury rarely suffers a loss, NKU overcame that mystique and its own free-throw shooting woes late in the game to post a 52-49 victory. The Norse built a 12-point lead in the second half and survived a furious Drury rally to extend its winning streak to seven and halt the Lady Panthers' current string of victories at five. Karmen Graham and Cassie Brannen combined for 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead NKU. Graham finished with 13 points and five rebounds as the Norse became the first Great Lakes Valley Conference team to defeat Drury in Weiser Gym. "I thought Cassie Brannen was great for us on both ends of the floor, and Karmen Graham came in and played one of her best games of the season," NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. "We did miss some free throws, but we are nine hours away from home, and I will take a win over a very good Drury team on this court any day. "They are really tough to beat in this gym, but our players made stops defensively when we had to, and that's why we won." Before Thursday, Drury was 14-0 all-time against GLVC opponents on its home floor during regular-season play. The Lady Panthers were 9-0 last season against GLVC foes and were 5-0 going into Thursday's showdown. Brannen, a Mount Notre Dame High School graduate, added 11 points and seven rebounds. The 6-foot-1 sophomore also finished with four blocked shots and a steal in 30 minutes of action. NKU built a 30-25 lead at halftime by holding Drury to 33.3 percent shooting from the field. The Norse used a 9-3 run to begin the second half and took a 39-28 lead when Karyn Creager drained a 3-pointer with 15:33 remaining in the game. Brannen's basket with 7:08 remaining gave NKU a 49-37 lead, but Drury used a 12-2 run to slice the advantage to 51-49 with 39 seconds left. The Norse contributed to Drury's rally by missing three straight front ends of the one-and-one in the final minute. Brittany Winner made a free throw with 4.9 seconds remaining to extend NKU's lead to 52-49, and Molly Carter's 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short to seal the win for the Norse. Creager added nine points for NKU, while Winner finished with seven points, six rebounds and three assists. Creager now has 943 career points at NKU. Becky Flippin scored 16 points for Drury, which fell to 14-6 overall, 8-4 in the GLVC. The Lady Panthers suffered through a 1-for-19 shooting night from behind the 3-point line - the first time all season they failed to hit at least five treys in a home game - and were outrebounded 45-33 by the taller Norse. "We contested a lot of their 3-point shots, and we made some humongous stops in the final minute because we could not hit a free throw," Winstel said. "Karyn Creager's length bothered (Carter) on that last shot, and Betsey Clark really played well for us on the perimeter and made big plays as well." NKU concludes the road trip Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at Rockhurst. The Norse are ninth in this week's NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region poll, and Drury is sixth.
|
||
