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CINCINNATI - Whether it's against the Big East, the Great Lakes Valley Conference or just a pick-up game, Nancy Winstel demands all-out effort from her players, regardless of the score. That's why she has more than 500 career victories as the women's basketball head coach at Northern Kentucky University. Facing a 21-point deficit against the University of Cincinnati on Thursday night and missing five graduated players from last season's 21-8 team, NKU refused to fold in an exhibition game against the Bearcats. In fact, the Norse almost completed a stunning comeback before falling just short, 69-67, in Fifth Third Arena. While Winstel is never happy with a loss, she was pleased with the second-half performance. And the fact her team toughened up after falling behind by 21 points in the second half made the evening a success, even in defeat. "I thought we battled in the second half. In the first half, we were a little nervous, but this is the first time this group has ever played in a real game together," Winstel said. "We got back into the game with a great comeback, and even though we made some mistakes down the stretch, you have to give our kids a lot of credit for the way they battled to the end. "We put ourselves in position to win at the end, and we just fell a little bit short." Cincinnati held NKU to 8-for-23 shooting from the field during the first half with a zone defense and built a 36-24 lead at the break. The Bearcats extended their advantage to 47-26 on a layup by Caitlin Pauley with 13:21 remaining in the game and still owned a 21-point cushion after Tenishia Benson's basket with 12:40 left. After two free throws by Cassie Brannen cut the UC lead to 49-30, Jessie Slack and Rachel Lantry fueled the NKU comeback from long range. First it was Slack, who drained a 3-pointer to make it 49-33. Lantry followed by burying back-to-back treys to bring the Norse to within 53-39. After an Angela Healy basket made it 54-41, Slack struck again by connecting on yet another 3-pointer to cut the UC lead to 54-44 with 10:01 remaining. "Jessie Slack played great. Her presence on the floor was tremendous, and she had an outstanding game shooting the ball," Winstel said. "I thought Rachel Lantry probably was our player of the game for the entire night. She did so many good things out there, and she can flat-out shoot the ball. She still has things to learn, because she really did not get a lot of minutes last year, but Rachel did a great job tonight."
After the NKU rally, UC regained its composure and appeared to have put the game away after building a 12-point lead with 2:27 remaining. The Norse stormed back with a 9-0 run, capped by seven straight points from Slack. The East Carolina transfer made two free throws with 33 seconds left to make it 67-64. "Jessie was clutch late in the game, and I was really happy to see her take control," Winstel said of her junior guard. Jill Stevens made one of two free throws with 18 seconds left to extend UC's lead to 68-64. After Nicole Chiodi missed a 3-point attempt, Slack chased down the offensive rebound and launched a long 3-pointer that found the bottom of the net to make it 68-67 with a second remaining. NKU fouled Carla Jacobs with 0.9 seconds on the clock, and Jacobs missed the first free throw. She then hit the second attempt to make it 69-67, but NKU had one final chance. A length-of-the-court pass, however, was batted away as the buzzer sounded, and UC escaped with a win against an NKU basketball team for the second straight evening. The night before, the Bearcat men rallied for a 76-71 victory against the Norse. Slack poured in 24 points in her NKU debut, and she drained six shots from 3-point range. Healy added 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. Lantry finished with eight points, three assists and two steals, while Chiodi added nine points and five assists. Brannen, playing on a tender ankle, scored eight points and pulled down three rebounds. "We did not move the ball as well as we need to, but when we went smaller in the second half, it helped us," Winstel said. "If we play the first half like the second half, it's a different story. But that is why you play these games...to find out where you are, and what you need to work on." NKU begins its regular-season schedule Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. against Brescia in Regents Hall. The Norse then hit the road for three consecutive games, beginning with a Nov. 20 contest at Mercyhurst. NKU then opens GLVC play with road games at Quincy (Nov. 29) and Southern Illinois at Edwardsville (Dec. 1).
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