Women’s basketball uses fast start to catapult over Tennessee Tech

The NKU women’s basketball team returned to Truist Arena Sunday afternoon following a difficult two-game road trip and used their lethal offensive production to pick up a win against the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech by a score of 75-53.

The Norse were hot out of the gate as they got off to a 19-0 run in the first six and a half minutes over the Golden Eagles, going 7-10 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line. Khamari Mitchell-Steen, Lindsey Duvall and Kailee Davis had four points each over the course of the run, and NKU’s defense stifled a struggling TTU offense that came into the game shooting just 40% from the field.

After the Norse finished the first quarter with a 24-7 lead, their dominant defense would keep the pressure on as they wouldn’t allow consecutive baskets for the Golden Eagles for nearly five minutes of basketball in the second. NKU would get their biggest lead of the half coming off a 10-4 run that was punctuated by a pull-up bucket from Ivy Turner, jumping out to a 34-11 lead. Turner would finish the half leading all Norse scorers with 12.

 Tennessee Tech would continue to fight as they would stop the bleeding somewhat, outscoring the Norse 13-12 for the final 5:06 of the half. Jordan Brock and Reghan Grimes would lead the scoring charge for the Golden Eagles with seven and six points respectively.

The Norse would keep the lead out of reach though, outscoring the Golden Eagles 19-18 in the third quarter and 13-10 in the fourth. Duvall would give the Norse 10 points in the half, and Trinity Thompson would come off the bench and add six points of her own to the cause.

With the Norse lead remaining in the double digits throughout the game, they would spread the wealth and receive contributions from some different faces from the bench. Thompson would lead all scorers off the bench in the game with eight points, Ellie Taylor would score six and put up five rebounds and two assists, and Whitney Hay would put up four points with two rebounds on the defensive end of the floor.

A key factor in the Norse win were Duvall and Turner’s exploits on offense as the two would score 16 points each, with Duvall continuing a dominant 2022-23 campaign in which she has scored in double-figures in each game this season. The Norse also received 16 points off turnovers against the Golden Eagles and recorded 15 points off rebounds, keeping TTU off the board in this category.

Sunday’s win was the first that only required regulation time for the Norse since their exhibition bout with Indianapolis on Nov. 4. NKU improves to 3-1 on the season, with the only blemish coming against Kent State on Nov. 13.

After heading on the road to Bowling Green on Wednesday, the Norse return to Truist Arena on Monday, Nov. 28 when they face off against Akron. The game begins at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.