Norse look for revenge in Horizon tourney opener
Christine Roush (10), Rianna Gayheart (5) and Courtney Roush (12) wave to the BB&T Arena crowd following senior night festivities Saturday night.
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — Just five days after having their senior night spoiled by Cleveland State, the NKU women’s basketball team will have a shot at redemption when they face the Vikings in the Horizon League tournament opener.
Northern Kentucky and Cleveland State will face off 3:30 p.m. ET today in the tournament’s first round. The game will be televised by ESPN3.
Saturday night, Viking freshman Ashanti Abshaw threw in an 18-foot shot as time expired for a stunning 64-62 win over the Norse. NKU failed to score in the game’s final 6:32.
“Their zone frustrated us,” Plitzuweit said after Saturday’s game. “We actually got some pretty good looks when we missed some shots down the stretch. We missed two really point-blank shots around the rim. Then we missed some perimeter shots we tried to force.”
Abshaw was named Horizon League freshman of the year this week. Also named to the second-team, all-league squad, Abshaw averaged 17.1 points and 10.2 rebounds in league games this season.
Against Northern Kentucky, she scored a career-high 32 points to go along with 14 rebounds.
“Everyone is excited to play them again,” Christine Roush said. “Definitely an awesome revenge rematch. To be able to play them the next game, the following game, is even more exciting, and we’re really prepared to play them.”
NKU had two players honored by the league prior to Thursday’s tournament opener. Senior Christine Roush was named to the first-team, all-league squad. Roush averaged 16.8 points in league play.
In addition, Roush is the top free throw shooter in all of Division I women’s college basketball. She has made 92.1 percent of her free throws. Second on the list is Kim Albrecht of Binghamton at 91.4 percent.
Also for the Norse, Molly Glick was named to the Horizon League all-freshman team. She started 26 of NKU’s 28 games, averaging 6.3 points per game.
If Northern Kentucky wins, they will play the winner of the Detroit-Valparaiso game 6 p.m. Friday at the Kress Events Center.
NKU Athletic Communications contributed to this story.