NKU welcomed the Cleveland State Vikings on Wednesday night in a big-time Horizon League matchup. The Vikings currently sit in third place in the Horizon League while the Lady Norse sit tied for fourth with a significant record disparity between the two. No matter the competition, both teams entered this game coming off huge wins and looked to add another one to their resume.
To start the game, Cleveland State won the tip-off and made a quick layup by Jordana Reisma to get the scoring started for the Vikings.
Cleveland State followed this up with a three by Macey Fegan, and back-to-back layups by Mickayla Perdue to start the game with a 9-0 run. Perdue leads the Horizon League in points per game and was off to a hot start with four points in the first three minutes.
NKU ended the Vikings’ run with Abby Wolterman and Jaci Jones knocking down back-to-back threes, but Cleveland State answered back with a three of their own by Fegan, giving the Vikings a 12-6 lead.
The Lady Norse and the Vikings traded buckets, with Kalissa Lacy and Wolterman both hitting threes to end the first quarter down 22-14.
To start the second quarter, Cleveland State laced in a three by Destiny Leo. NKU quickly responded with a three of their own by Mya Meredith to bring the lead back down to single digits.
Cleveland State had two trips to the line by Perdue and Reisma, who made all four to extend the lead to 29-17. NKU would respond with a three by Lacy, however, Cleveland State did not take their foot off the gas making a jump shot by Guerreiro and a layup by Resima to extend their lead to 33-20 midway through the second quarter.
The Norse and the Vikings ended the half by trading baskets, with Lacy banking in her third three-pointer of the game. Macey Blevins then got fouled shooting from beyond the arc, to which she made all three free throws from the charity stripe.
Cleveland State made sure to end the half strong with Guerreiro swishing in a jump shot with 35 seconds to go. After NKU came up empty with their last possession of the half, the Vikings eyed another basket. As Resima dribbled down the court, she found an open lane and drove in for a layup but was blocked by Kamora Morgan at the buzzer as the Lady Norse went into halftime down 41-30.
To start the third quarter, both teams came out firing, with Perdue making an and-one to get a chance at a three-point play. Perdue made the free throw, but NKU responded with a three by Blevins to equalize the margin.
Cleveland State responded yet again, with Perdue making a deep three to increase her point total to 15. NKU, having been in this position before, adjusted on both sides of the floor, which sparked an 11-0 run capped off by a Jones three to bring the score within five.
The Vikings responded by scoring back-to-back layups by Reisma and Perdue to go into the fourth quarter up nine. The Norse, desperate for momentum, needed another spark to dig themselves out of this deficit and get a coveted victory over a top-three team in the conference.
To start the fourth quarter, Morgan scored a layup in transition and kept the Norse hot. Cleveland State responded with a Guerreiro jump shot, but the Norse kept fighting, scoring a jump shot of their own and a three by Morgan, who was starting to heat up as NKU drew within four, down 60-56.
Both teams traded threes as the offenses began clicking. As NKU began to draw closer, Guerreiro scored a tough layup to bring her point total to 10 and increase the Vikings’ lead to six, up 65-59. As time began working against them, Morgan and Idowu stepped up for the Lady Norse, scoring a floater and a layup in back-to-back possessions to bring the deficit to a mere two points, down 65-63.
Idowu then took a page out of her own book, scoring a game-tying jump shot to tie the game at 65 a piece. Guerreiro would continue playing spoiler, getting fouled and making both from the free-throw line to give Cleveland State back the lead.
With two minutes left, down 67-65, the Norse needed a smart and efficient possession to not let the game get away from them. After pump faking a three, Lacy made a pass to an open Jones who swished in the go-ahead three to put NKU up 68-67.
Both teams traded trips to the line, leaving the Norse up by one, 70-69. With 10 seconds left, the Vikings had a chance to come away with a hard-fought win against a resilient NKU team. Perdue had the ball at the top of the court, surveying possible options. With seven seconds left, she drove inside and got the ball stolen by Idowu who carried over her late-game heroics from last game and put the Lady Norse into a prime position to win the game.
Cleveland State fouled Noelle Hubert, who made two clutch free throws to extend the Lady Norse lead, 72-69. With three seconds left, the Vikings passed the ball into Leo who didn’t get a shot off in time.
NKU came away with a huge win over a tough opponent to advance to 10-16 overall, and 7-8 in conference play. The Lady Norse take on Robert Morris this Sunday and look to advance their conference record to .500 for the first time this season. Tip-off will be at 2 p.m. with streaming available on ESPN+.