The NKU women’s basketball team came up short on Sunday, losing to the Toledo Rockets 76-73 after an impressive 14-point lead. The Norse now fall to 2-3 on the season. 

In the first quarter, the Norse were hot, starting with a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes of competition as Macey Blevins and Halle Idowu began knocking down layups and jumpshots. NKU ended the first quarter leading 19-15, making 74% of their shots in the paint. 

Going into the second quarter, the Norse were continuing the momentum as they extended their lead to 38-24 going on a 12-2 run, but Toledo would not give up, as the Rockets put together a 6-0 run. At halftime, NKU was leading 42-32 as Blevins and Idowu had a combined 22 points in the first half. 

Blevins and Idowu continued to put points on the board, especially knocking down jumpers and getting to the free throw line. Toledo continued to fight back as Rockets guard Sammi Mikonowicz managed to get to the free throw line a total of six times, going perfect at the line and knocking down a three-pointer. Kendall Braden knocked down two free throws to cut the Norse’s lead to 58-52. 

Toledo had some momentum as Khera Goss managed to score off a layup and knocked down a big three-pointer, cutting NKU’s lead to 65-61. Toledo continued their hot streak at the free throw line as Kendall Carruthers managed to go 3-3 at the line, cutting the lead to 65-64 with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter.  

Down to the final five-minute stretch, both teams were trading the lead back and forth, with neither giving up. Kamora Morgan got two big baskets for the Norse, scoring on the last two possessions putting NKU up 73-70 with 1:39 left in the fourth quarter. Carruthers continued to shine, knocking down a big three pointer to even the score at 73 with 51 seconds remaining.  

NKU had a chance to put the game away, but could not pull it off as Blevins was blocked on a layup with 37 seconds left. Coming out of a timeout, Toledo put the game away as Nan Garcia was able to convert on a second-chance layup to put the Rockets up 75-73 with two seconds left. The Norse had one more push in them, but Mya Meredith turned the ball over late and Idowu fouled Goss, who made one out of two free throws. As time expired, Blevins missed a three pointer to tie the game. Blevins could not match her heroics from Marshall and came up just short on the buzzer-beating three to finalize the Toledo comeback.

The Norse look to bounce back as they travel to Evansville, Indiana taking on the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles this Saturday starting at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.