Tim Downer

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS- Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team defeated Saint Joseph’s College, 68-59, Saturday afternoon in Regents Hall. Betsey Clark came off the bench and scored eight points, keying a 30-6 run in the second half.

Saint Joseph’s held a 34-30 lead with 18:36 remaining in the game after a basket by Courtney Rosenbaum. NKU, however, used a 19-4 run to build a 49-38 advantage when Clark hit a short jumper with 9:51 left.

Elizabeth Burrows and Sarah Woods connected on consecutive three-point shots from the left corner during the NKU spurt. Nikki Perkins capped the 30-6 run with a three-pointer, to give the Norse a 60-40 lead with 4:40 remaining.

NKU defeated Saint Joseph’s for the 20th consecutive time. NKU has not lost to Saint Joseph’s since the 1993-94 season, when the Pumas posted a 72-67 victory against the Norse at Rensselaer, Ind.

The Norse improved to 12-5 overall, 7-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Perkins scored 14 points to lead NKU, which is ranked No. 22 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll. Sharell Snardon added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Norse, who shot 58.3 percent from the field in the second half.

NKU owned a 28-23 lead late in the first half after Karyn Creager converted two free throws, but Saint Joseph’s Heather Allen, who finished with a game-high 25 points, scored five points in the final 41 seconds as the Pumas forged a 28-28 tie at the break. Saint Joseph’s outscored NKU 6-2 to begin the second half to take a 34-30 lead, but the Norse responded with their deciding 30-6 run.

The win comes just two days after the Lady Norse were defeated 57-5 by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The loss was the first time in ten tries that Parkside has beaten NKU in Regents Hall.

The Norse were plagued by a bad shooting night connecting on just 16 of 51 shots, including just six of 23 from behind the three-point line.

The Norse now enter a critical stretch of their schedule where they will play six of eight games on the road versus conference opponents.

NKU needs 12 more victories to keep alive a six-year streak of winning 20 or more games in a season.

NKU is ranked No. 4 in this week’s NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region poll. The top eight teams in the Great Lakes Region poll will qualify for the NCAA Division II Tournament in March.

– Article by Sports Information, Kyle Burch contributed to this articlearticle