Christine Roush joined the thousand-point club Saturday as the NKU women defeated Big East foe Marquette 83-78 at BB&T Arena.

NKU is now 3-1 overall while Marquette is 0-3.

“Our ladies fought and they competed and we fortunate to come away with a win against a great opponent in Marquette coming out of the Big East,” NKU head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “Our kids did a great job of competing and finding a way.”

The Golden Eagles started the fourth period with five quick points. The Norse fired right back with some big shots by Kasey Uetrecht. With a hard layup basket while getting fouled Roush became the 29th member of the NKU 1,000-point club.

“To get all those points and help win all those games the past four years for this program means a lot,” Roush said. “I feel great to have such a great fan base there to support me through it all.”

Marquette rallied late, overcoming a 12-point fourth quarter deficit to take a 77-76 lead with 1:21 left. Shar’rae Davis tied the game with 1:12 left with a free throw.

Kelley Wiegman gave the Norse the lead for good with a layup with 47 seconds remaining. Wiegman and Roush knocked down free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.

“We wanted to pull this one out for our fans,” Roush said. “We had a lot of fans come out and to have a Big East team come here was an awesome opportunity for us.”

Roush not only scored her thousandth point but also led all scorers with 27 points. Lyttle finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds to become the first Norse player since the Division I transition to have back-to-back double-doubles.

“It’s all about energy and just going after the ball,” Lyttle said. “Even if the ball is just tipped I have to get the ball. That’s all that’s going through my head.”

The Eagles started the game with a long 3-point field goal and making one out of two free throws.  Not to be outdone, the Norse came back to add their own baskets to take a 6-4 lead with 6:20 left in the 1st.

The first quarter was full of intensity. Both teams traded baskets early on in the game. Uetrecht knocked down two field goals and two free throws to keep the Norse within striking distance after the Eagles started to create a few turnovers.

Roush reentered the game knocking down a running jumper tying the game at 16, at the end of the 1st period.

Uetrecht added another 3-point basket that fired up the crowd. Not to be outdone by her teammate, Roush knocks down her own 3-pointer. The Norse went into the half leading Marquette 34-24.

Roush started off the third just as she ended the second with a 3-pointer. The Eagles answered back with their own 3-point basket.

Kelley Wiegman began to knock down her own 3-point baskets. With 4:30 left in the third period, the Norse lead 51-47. Heading into the last period, the Norse led 58-49.

Next up for the Norse is a matchup the day after Thanksgiving against Tennessee Tech. Tip-off is 7 p.m. Friday at BB&T Arena.

Summary

@ BB&T Arena, Highland Heights, Ky.

Northern Kentucky 83, Marquette 78

(78) MARQUETTE (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Valentine 0-0-2-2, King 1-1-2-5, Yentz 2-2-1-7, Hiedeman 6-2-3-17, Blockton 7-2-6-22, Davenport 1-0-0-2, Moskari 3-3-0-9, Wilborn 5-1-3-14. TOTALS 25-11-17-78.

(83) NORTHERN KENTUCKY (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Lyttle 3-0-5-11, Uetrecht 5-2-4-16, Glick 4-0-0-8, Roush 9-4-5-27, Wiegman 2-1-2-7, Davis 0-0-2-2, Gayheart 2-1-0-5, Kinch 1-0-1-3, Franson 2-0-0-4. TOTALS 28-8-19-83.

FIELD GOALS: M 25/59 (Blockton 7/16, Hiedeman 6/14, Wilborn 5/6); N 28/56 (Roush 9/18, Uetrecht 5/8, Glick 4/10, Lyttle 3/3)

3 POINT FIELD GOALS: M 11/33 (Moskari 3/7); N 8/23 (Roush 4/8, Uetrecht 2/3)

FREE THROWS: M 17/27 (Blockton 6/10, Hiedeman 3/3, Wilborn 3/4); N 19/24 (Roush 5/5, Lyttle 5/7, Uetrecht 4/4)

REBOUNDS: M 34 (Valentine 10, Blockton 6, King 5, Wilborn 4); N 38 (Lyttle 14, Roush 6, Wiegman 5)

ASSISTS: M 11 (Hiedeman 3, Wilborn 3); N 11 (Wiegman 3)

STEALS: M 13 (Hiedeman 5, Blockton 3, Wilborn 3); N 6 (Roush 2)

BLOCKED SHOTS: M 1; N 1

TURNOVERS: M 17; N 15