The 11 a.m. start on Friday may have seemed unusual to some.
But when Northern Kentucky University invited a number of elementary schools to the game, it made sense. The Northern Kentucky women’s basketball team (11-7, 5-4) entertained the 2,573 people in attendance at Truist Arena with a 75-69 Horizon League win over the Purdue at Fort Wayne Mastadons (6-13, 3-6).
A big difference in the game came in assists. Northern Kentucky had 20 to 13 for PFW. Graduate student guard Lindsey Duvall led the Norse with seven assists to go with 10 points and eight rebounds.
“I’m not going to single out one person because when you look at the stats, it was a balanced attack,” said Camryn Whitaker, Northern Kentucky head coach. “I’m proud of our team. Down the stretch, I thought we had some people step up, knock down free throws when we needed them. I know it wasn’t pretty with a couple turnovers. But for the most part, Fort Wayne forced people into 20 turnovers a game. That was a big emphasis for (Friday). Throughout the course of the game, we did a great job of taking care of the basketball. We got back to being us.”
The Norse put six players in double figures altogether for the first time in just more than a year. Senior guard Ivy Turner led the way scoring 19 and sophomore guard Kailee Davis scored 13 with junior guard Kennedy Igo coming off the bench to score 12.
“I just try to be aggressive,” Turner said. “I missed our last game (Sunday at Detroit with an injury). They play a lot of zone so I stood in the middle and just tried to find my shot.”
Northern Kentucky outscored PFW, 42-32 in the paint. Graduate student Emmy Souder scored 11 for the Norse and sophomore guard Khamari Mitchell-Steen continued her solid play with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
“We’re really unselfish,” Mitchell-Steen said. “We really care about each other on the court and off the court. I just like the connections we all have with each other. We all get along well so that carries onto the basketball court.”
The Norse hit 53 percent from the field including 50 percent from 3-point range and 73 percent of their free throws. The Mastadons made 41 percent from the field including 33 percent from three-point range and 88 percent of their free throws putting three players in double figures. Junior guard Amellia Bromenschenkel led the Mastadons with 19 points. Senior guard Riley Ott followed with 15 and sophomore guard Ryin Ott scored 11. The Mastadons set a number of screens trying to free up perimeter shots.
“That’s what they do. We defended a couple different ways,” Whitaker said. “We had practiced it a few different ways. We were switching some, switching everything and then we were trying to get over. Sometimes we were getting through. We were just mainly trying to keep them off rhythm and not allow their offense to get comfortable.”
The Mastadons won the rebounding battle, 32-31 including a narrow 10-7 on the offensive glass. But PFW outscored Northern Kentucky 14-8 in second-chance points.
Norse sophomore forward Trinity Thompson could not play because of an injury. But senior forward Tayah Irvin came in and blocked two shots along with Mitchell-Steen. Northern Kentucky turned away five shots to just one for PFW.
The game had four lead changes. Northern Kentucky scored the game’s first seven points leading 15-9 after the first quarter. But the Mastadons came back to take a 28-27 halftime lead.
Davis made a lay-up just under one minute into the second half to give the Norse the lead for good at 31-30. The Norse increased that advantage to 54-48 after three quarters.
The Norse hit their biggest lead at 14 points by a 65-51 count with 3:33 left in the game. But PFW did not quit, cutting the lead to three at 72-69 with 18 seconds left. But in that final 18 seconds, Igo made all four free throws to seal the Norse win.
“I think that was my job. They put me in because (PFW) had to foul,” Igo said. “I have to get to the line and make free throws.”
Northern Kentucky welcomes the Horizon League-leading Cleveland State Vikings (17-2) to Truist Arena on Sunday for a 1 p.m. game.