KENOSHA, Wis. - Sammy Kromm scored six of her game-high 34 points in overtime Thursday night as the University of Wisconsin-Parkside women’s basketball team defeated Northern Kentucky University, 75-73, at the DeSimone Gymnasium.
Kromm’s basket with 54 seconds remaining in overtime gave Wisconsin-Parkside a 75-70 lead, but NKU’s Amy Mobley connected on a three-pointer with 42 seconds left to cut the deficit to 75-73. NKU had a final chance to tie or win the game in the closing seconds, but Kristin Polosky missed a three-point shot and time expired.
Kromm, a sophomore forward, made 11 of 22 shots from the field as Wisconsin-Parkside defeated NKU for the first time in history. Going into Thursday’s game, NKU was 16-0 all-time against the Rangers.
Wisconsin-Parkside held a 54-42 lead with six minutes remaining, but NKU rallied and sent the game into overtime when Jessica Brock grabbed an offensive rebound and scored a basket with 12 seconds left in regulation. The Rangers’ Carrie Weir then missed a jumper at the buzzer.
NKU - which is ranked No. 21 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll - dropped to 19-6 overall, 14-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Wisconsin-Parkside improved to 11-15 overall, 7-12 in the GLVC.
Mobley led NKU with 22 points, and Sharell Snardon added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Mobley also moved into 12th place on the NKU all-time scoring with 1,267 career points.
NKU made 47.4 percent of its shots from the field, but the Norse committed 23 turnovers. The Norse made 9 of 24 three-point attempts and won the rebounding battle by a 42-32 margin.
NKU will play at Lewis University at 2 p.m. Saturday. NKU can still clinch the No. 2 seed in the upcoming GLVC Tournament with a victory on Saturday.
The Norse are tied with Quincy University in the GLVC standings with identical 14-5 records, but NKU swept the season series from the Lady Hawks and owns the tie-breaker.
Sharell Snardon