 |
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - They have been called special by their head coach on more than one occasion. Three arrived as freshmen, and two others eventually joined them after transferring from NCAA Division I programs. A year ago, playing together for the first time as a group, they won the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament semifinals. On Monday night, this group of five seniors made sure their final home appearance at Northern Kentucky University would also be remembered as special by posting a 76-64 victory over Bellarmine in Regents Hall to extend their winning streak to 12 consecutive games. And some of the noteworthy moments occurred before the game ever tipped off. "Coach (Nancy Winstel) said that they have a tradition here that the seniors start," said Karyn Creager, one of two Norse seniors to start Monday. "The other three seniors agreed that we’ve been playing so well the way that it was with the winning streak, that they didn’t want to change things up. They’re team players and I wouldn’t expect anything different out of them." That sense of team play carried over to the game as five NKU players scored in double figures. Creager and fellow senior starter Brittany Winner each scored 11 points for the Norse. The three other seniors - Katie Butler, Betsey Clark and Karmen Graham - also played key roles by combining for 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench. NKU improved to 19-5 overall, 13-4 in the GLVC. The Norse also locked up the GLVC East Division's No. 2 seed in the upcoming GLVC Tournament, which begins March 2 at Evansville, Ind. The Norse underclassmen played huge most of the evening, particularly inside standouts Angela Healy and Cassie Brannen. Healy, a junior and a Highlands High School graduate, scored 15 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out five assists. She also had four steals in 28 minutes of action. Brannen, a sophomore from Mount Notre Dame High School, scored 13 points, blocked six shots and finished with five rebounds. Brannen dominated the inside defensively early in the game and had four rejections by halftime. Her six blocks were one shy of tying the school record.
"Angela Healy just got off to a terrific start this year. Then she was kind of struggling, but now I think Angela is starting to get her game back," Winstel said. "That’s really good to see because she’s so important to what we do at both ends of the floor. Cassie is becoming a force by blocking shots, and her timing is good and she is really long and hard to shoot over." NKU converted a sizzling 72.7 percent of its shots from the field in the first half, but the Norse could not shake the Knights and held just a 39-35 lead at the break. Bellarmine stayed close with 7-for-10 shooting from 3-point range, led by Angela Smith's four treys in the first half. Up by one point (58-57) with 7:48 remaining, NKU used an 11-2 run to build a 69-59 lead. Brannen and Graham each had conventional three-point plays during the spurt. Graham, who has been bothered by injuries and sickness this season, finished her night with six points and three rebounds, not to mention plenty of balloons and other Senior Night goodies. "It was crazy. I was telling Angela Healy today that I still feel like a freshman sometimes," Graham said. "It’s weird. It’s like you don’t come to terms with it, but then at the same time it's neat because we have been here for four years." Winner put the finishing touches on her home career by draining a 3-pointer with 1:47 remaining to give NKU a 76-61 advantage. A transfer who played her freshman season at Elon (N.C.), Winner's trey gave her exactly 900 career points as a collegiate player. She also collected six assists and five rebounds. Nicole Chiodi dished out a team-leading seven assists and scored 13 points. The junior guard was perfect from both the field (4-for-4) and free-throw line (5-for-5). Butler, the University of Dayton transfer in her second year at NKU, totaled seven points and four rebounds. As a team, NKU made all 16 of its free-throw attempts. That pleased Creager, NKU's all-time greatest from the line. "I want to say it's rubbing off on them, but we shoot free throws in practice in game situations, and we have to make so many in a row before we’re done," she said. "I also think we’re playing with a lot of confidence now. I think we’re going to the line with confidence and that’s helping us." NKU hits the road for games at Saint Joseph's (Thursday at 6:30 p.m.) and Indianapolis (Saturday at 5:30 p.m.) to conclude the regular season. The Norse are ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region poll.
|
||||
