On Feb. 24, one of the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball players rewrote the definition of rejection during the Norse’s 58-53 win over the University of Indianapolis.
Cassie Brannen blocked 12 shots on her way to breaking the school record for blocks, previously seven, held by Kristin Polosky and Janet Brungs.
“Cassie had a great game, scoring 12 points and blocking 12 shots. She played very well and did a good job of guarding No. 34 (Amanda Norris),” Head Coach Nancy Winstel said.
NKU managed to dig itself into a hole early into the game, going into halftime down 28-21 and only shooting 29 percent from the field.
“During halftime the coaching staff really did a great job and made some great suggestions, Matt Schmidt (Norse Assistant Head Coach) really did a good job and had lots of input,” Winstel said.
After the half, the Norse came out with fire in its eyes and erased the seven-point Indianapolis lead with an astounding 9-0 run. From this point on, the team never looked back.
“It was bam, bam, bam and their lead was gone. We definitely picked it up in the second half,” said Winstel.
Brannen wasn’t the only one who made the record books at NKU that night; senior guard Karyn Creager surpassed the 1,000-career point mark.
Coming into the game, Creager had 998 points, but didn’t find those two points until the second half.
With 14:22 to go in the game, Creager squared up for a shot from behind the arc and nailed it, becoming only the 23rd member in the 1,000th point club at NKU.
“Karyn made some big shots in the second half, and it was great to see her score her 1,000th point. Every time they went to a zone we responded by making them pay,” Winstel said.
Eight different players scored for the Norse, led by senior Brittany Winner with 14 points. Close behind Winner was Brannen with 12, then Creager with 11, followed by Angela Healy with nine and then Karmen Graham with six.
The win by NKU gives it an overall record of 20-6 and 14-5 in Great Lakes Valley Conference.
“This was a great win for us and it was nice to get to the 20-win mark,” said Winstel.
The Norse finished with the regular season, but March 2 it kicks off the GLVC Tournament in Evansville, Ind. As the No. 2 seed, the Norse will face the University of Missouri-Rolla.
The winner of this game will advance on to play the winner of Drury University and Kentucky Wesleyan College on Mar. 3. NKU is defending its GLVC tournament title this year after winning the tournament in 2006.
For tickets and hotel information call (812)-476-1383 extension 25. Ticket prices for session one thru six cost $12 for adults and $10 for students. Session seven will be $15 for adults and $13 for students.