OWENSBORO, Ky. – Michelle Cottrell scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Saturday night as the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team defeated Kentucky Wesleyan College, 80-73, at the Owensboro Sportscenter.

Cottrell made 15 of 21 free throws en route to her 47th career double-double. The 15 made free throws tied the NKU single-game record, which is also shared by Linda Niehaus and Lori McClellan. Cottrell now has 2,042 career points and is NKU’s all-time leading scorer.

Amy Mobley added 22 points as NKU improved to 19-5 overall, 15-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Bridget Flanagan finished with 10 points for the Norse, who are ranked No. 5 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll and lead the University of Southern Indiana (21-5 overall, 14-4 in the GLVC) by one game in the conference standings.

NKU now leads the all-time series with Kentucky Wesleyan, 37-3, and the Norse own nine consecutive victories against the Panthers.

NKU will return home and play host to the University of Missouri-St. Louis at 5:30 p.m. Thursday night in Regents Hall. The Norse will close out the home portion of their 2001-02 schedule next Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. game against Quincy (Ill.) University.