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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team should be safely off the NCAA Tournament bubble, and the Norse can likely make plans to be back in this same city next weekend for more postseason action. The Norse completed their 2007-08 body of work Sunday afternoon with a 71-67 loss to No. 8 Drury in the championship game of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. NKU sends its NCAA Tournament resume to the selection committee with a record of 22-8 and a GLVC East Division championship. The Norse also defeated Indianapolis twice, knocked off Bellarmine and posted a victory over Missouri S&T in the GLVC Tournament. That figures to be more than enough for NKU - ranked eighth in the latest regional poll - to earn a berth in the eight-team NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament, which begins Friday. Molly Carter and Lindsay Ballweg each scored 16 points to lead Drury past NKU on Sunday. Carter’s basket with 2:01 remaining in the game snapped a 65-all tie and Drury held off NKU for its first-ever GLVC Tournament title. Ballweg made a pair of free throws with 0.9 seconds left to seal the win for the Lady Panthers, who improved to 27-3. Carter was named the most outstanding player of the tournament for Drury, the defending regional champion and No. 1 seed in the latest Great Lakes Region poll. The Lady Panthers are expected to be the host for the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament. Pairings will be announced Sunday night. Jessie Slack led NKU with 19 points, while Nicole Chiodi finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Slack and Chiodi each were named to the GLVC’s all-tournament team. Danyelle Echoles added 15 points for the Norse, who rallied from a 56-46 deficit with 10:41 remaining to take a 65-64 lead with 2:55 left on the clock. NKU shot 48.9 percent from the field and made all 14 of its free-throw attempts. The Norse were 7-for-14 from 3-point range and won the rebounding battle by a 37-31 count, but 26 turnovers against the Drury pressure proved to be the difference. Drury also limited NKU senior center Angela Healy to four points before she fouled out late in the game. Healy, an All-GLVC and All-Great Lakes Region standout, grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots. Norse junior post player Cassie Brannen blocked four shots and grabbed nine rebounds, while teammate Rachel Lantry added nine points off the bench. Slack and Echoles each knocked down three shots from 3-point range. During the regular season, Drury posted a 55-52 win over NKU in Regents Hall. The Lady Panthers - who eliminated the Norse from the GLVC Tournament last season in the semifinals at Evansville, Ind. - have now beaten NKU three consecutive times. Two years ago, NKU defeated Drury in the GLVC Tournament championship game. The Lady Panthers hold a 4-2 edge in the all-time series with NKU.
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