NKU women’s basketball tipped off their regular season Monday in front of the home crowd at Truist Arena. Their season started with a tough test from the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders, a team that is coming off an impressive NCAA tournament appearance last season.
The Blue Raiders got the scoring started for the night on a Courtney Blakely three. MTSU is grateful to have her back, after spending one year at the University of Arizona, before transferring back to MTSU where she started her collegiate career.
MTSU would jump out to a 6-2 early lead as the only shot to fall in the first few minutes for the Norse was a Macey Blevins scoop layup.
By the first media timeout, the Blue Raiders had a 13-7 lead, thanks in part to Ta’mia Scott knocking down two shots from the perimeter. A 6-0 run for MTSU highlighted by a eurostep in the lane from Blakely and a Scott fast break layup would send NKU into the break trailing 20-12 after the first quarter. Scott and Blakely combined for 16 of the Blue Raiders’ 20 first quarter points.
The second quarter started in similar fashion as more buckets from Scott saw the lead inflate to 27-12.
The Norse did not score in the second quarter until a Jaci Jones three-pointer found the bottom of the net nearly four minutes in. Anastasiia Boldyreva made her presence known in the post against an undersized NKU team, which helped them go into the locker room with a 40-21 lead at halftime.
The Norse only mustered up nine total points in the second quarter.
The second half would be much more competitive, thanks to the great contribution from NKU’s own Halle Idowu. The graduate transfer would bring a much-needed spark to the NKU offense as she poured in 13 points in the third quarter alone. She was the first Norse to reach double figures for the game.
NKU shot 4-6 from behind the arc in the third, but the steady play from the Blue Raiders allowed them to maintain a comfortable 62-40 lead going into the final quarter.
That final quarter was all about pride, as NKU would not back down, no matter the outcome. The Norse found their stride in the second half, shooting 50% or better in the third and fourth quarter, while only being outscored in the half by two.
The first half proved to be too much to overcome, however, as MTSU would defeat NKU 79-58.
The Norse were led by Idowu, who had a team high 18 points. The only other Norse in double figures was Gabby Razzano with 11 points. MTSU got a huge performance from Scott, who pitched in 24 points in the winning effort.
NKU will continue their challenging start to the season as they travel to Lexington, KY to play the 22nd-ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats at Memorial Coliseum. The game will tip-off at 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.