NKU women’s basketball played their final home game on a cold but sunny Saturday afternoon against the rival Wright State Raiders.
Fans packed the arena for senior day. NKU recognized seven seniors: Kalissa Lacy, Mya Meredith, Paige Hodgson, Kailee Davis, Macey Blevins, Jaci Jones and Halle Idowu.
The excitement grew, the buzzer went off and the ball was thrown up. The Raiders’ Amaya Staton tipped it back to Makiya Miller and the action started quickly.
WSU was the first to get on the board—in their first possession Miller hit a tough layup under the rim. But NKU responded, Idowu caught a pass from Jones on the three-point arc as she hit nothing but net. The Raiders came right back as the rebound leader in the Horizon League, Staton, showed off her post moves, scoring off a spin move and giving WSU the 4-3 lead.
The Raiders scored once again on a three-pointer by Miller off an offensive rebound. But NKU responded with an 8-0 run started by a Blevins layup. Meredith scored six straight points as she hit a free throw, a three then a tough layup off an offensive rebound for the Norse to take back the lead, 11-7.
The quarter ended as both teams traded baskets. The Norse had a three-point advantage going into the second quarter, 14-11.
The second quarter started and it was all NKU. They went on a 7-0 run started by Blevins making two at the line then hitting a big-time three off an offensive rebound. The run ended with a highly-contested layup by Idowu to get them going early taking a 10-point lead, 21-11.
Once again both teams kept trading baskets as the Norse got the lead to 12 off a three-pointer from Kamora Morgan. The Raiders cut into the lead going on a 5-0 run in the last two minutes of the quarter. They got three of those points from the free-throw line all made by Lauren Scott.
The Norse got the last laugh going into halftime on a layup to go from Meredith. With time expiring, The Norse had a nine-point lead going back in the tunnel, 34-25.
After a halftime filled with dancers, both teams started slow. It took about two minutes for a bucket to drop. The Norse went on a 6-0 run to start the quarter with all their points coming at the rim to take a 40-25 lead.
NKU got their lead up to 16 at one point, but Wright State started chopping down their advantage. They hit three straight threes. Miller hit two of those threes as she brought life back into her team, getting NKU’s lead to now single digits, 46-39.
Wright State got as close as four off a three-pointer by Ellie Magestro-Kennedy, but once again NKU ended the quarter with a score as Abby Wolterman sank two free throws pushing their lead to 50-44 going into the fourth.
The fourth quarter started out with both teams trading baskets. The Norse retained their lead for about six minutes. When the four-minute mark rolled around, Wright State kicked it into high gear.
The Raiders’ Chloe Chard Peloquin went into the paint and hit a fade-away jumper, then the very next play Miller scored a layup to cut NKU’s lead to just two, 59-57.
NKU responded with a made three by Blevins and this was the last score by the Norse.
The Raiders finished the job as they went on an 11-0 run to end the game, winning 68-62 and spoiling senior day for the Norse.
Even though the Norse are done at home for the regular season, their season is not over yet. They go on the road for their final two games as they face Detroit Mercy on Thursday at 7 p.m. This game will be broadcast on ESPN+.