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QUINCY, Ill. - Too many turnovers and a ton of missed free throws definitely hurt, but the second-half performance of Quincy’s Janette Burgin was absolutely painful for Northern Kentucky University on Thursday night. Burgin scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half as Quincy upset No. 15 NKU, 83-66, in the Pepsi Arena. Jessica Keller added 21 points for Quincy (3-2), which shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second half to defeat NKU (2-1) in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both teams. Burgin, a sophomore forward averaging 8.8 points entering Thursday’s game, was 8-for-15 from the field and drained a trio of 3-pointers. She also collected four steals and grabbed four rebounds. “She did a good job against us last year at our place, and she played very well in this game in the second half,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said of Burgin. “Quincy executed their half-court offense in the second half, and they took it to us. They played very well together and made big plays. We did not.” The Lady Hawks held the Norse to 39.3 percent shooting from the field and took advantage of 29 NKU turnovers. Quincy used a 17-2 run in the second half to turn a 45-43 lead into a whopping 62-45 advantage with 8:18 remaining in the game. Angela Healy led NKU with 22 points and nine rebounds. Cassie Brannen added 13 points, while teammates Jessie Slack and Nicole Chiodi each scored 11 points. Chiodi added nine rebounds and dished out five assists. The Norse converted only 64.3 percent (18-for-28) of their free throws and lost despite finishing with a 45-34 rebounding advantage. “Who cares about a big rebounding advantage when you get beat by 17 on the scoreboard,” Winstel said. “Quincy just out-hustled us, if you ask me. Somebody has to step up and make a play for us.” Quincy snapped a four-game losing streak in the series against NKU. The Lady Hawks had not beaten the Norse since Jan. 29, 2005. NKU holds a 19-7 lead in the all-time series. NKU will visit Southern Illinois at Edwardsville at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Cougars are in their final season in the GLVC after deciding to reclassify to NCAA Division I status. A year ago, SIUE posted a 65-64 win at NKU.
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