NKU comeback falls short against Wright State
A late comeback fell short Saturday as the NKU women’s basketball team lost to Wright State 76-65 at BB&T Arena.
The loss breaks a four-game winning streak for the Norse.
A stretch in the first quarter gave the Raiders (18-6, 8-3 in Horizon League) the cushion it maintained throughout the game.
With the score tied at 13 with 3:52 left in the opening quarter, Wright State went on an 11-2 run over the next 2:25 to take a 24-15 lead.
While the Raiders couldn’t put away the Norse, NKU could never get close enough to make Wright State sweat. NKU got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
“We weren’t able to get over the momentum-changing next stop or next score opportunity,” NKU head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.
Every time the Norse made a run, Kim Demmings or Emily Vogelpohl knocked down an outside shot. They combined to shoot 8 of 14 from three-point range.
“I thought Wright State played very, very well,” Plitzuweit said. “Their two perimeter kids, Demmings and Vogelpohl, hit shots to separate when we were making a run.”
Demmings led WSU with 28 points. Vogelpohl had 14 while Antania Hayes added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
“I thought there were some possessions that we did a good job,” Plitzuweit said. “I think Hayes hit some step-back and pull-up jump shots. Demmings hit some tough shots.
“I thought Emily Vogelpohl’s shots weren’t tough shots. We didn’t make those tough enough for her.”
Christine Roush had 22 points to pace the Norse (14-8, 6-5). Courtney Roush added 16 points.
Saturday’s game was the “Box Out Cancer” night. The Norse wore pink jerseys and cancer survivors were featured throughout the night.
“It’s a big night for us, obviously,” Plitzuweit said. “We’re doing more than playing a basketball game. We’re trying to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.
“For our young ladies to have an opportunity to spend some time with the women who are breast cancer survivors was really, really important.”
Summary
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016
@ BB&T Arena, Highland Heights, Kentucky
Wright State 76, Northern Kentucky 65
W — 24 – 14 – 20 – 18 — 76
N — 17 – 14 – 14 – 20 — 65
(76) WRIGHT STATE (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Hayes 6-0-2-14, Vogelpohl 5-4-0-14, Demmings 7-4-10-28, Denham 0-0-3-3, van der Keijl 4-0-2-10, Simmons 0-0-2-2, Smith 2-0-1-5. TOTALS 24-8-20-76.
(65) NORTHERN KENTUCKY (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Lyttle 3-0-0-6, Gayheart 1-1-0-3, Ch. Roush 7-6-2-22, Uetrecht 1-0-0-2, Davis 4-1-0-9, Co. Roush 7-0-2-16, Kinch 1-1-2-5, Franson 1-0-0-2. TOTALS 25-9-6-65.
FIELD GOALS: W 24/55 (Demmings 7/15, Hayes 6/10, Vogelpohl 5/11); N 25/67 (Ch. Roush 7/11, Co. Roush 7/16, Davis 4/9)
3 POINT FIELD GOALS: W 8/17 (Demmings 4/8, Vogelpohl 4/6); N 9/30 (Ch. Roush 6/9)
FREE THROWS: W 20/26 (Demmings 10/12, Denham 3/4); N 6/6
REBOUNDS: W 42 (Hayes 11, Vogelpohl 7, Smith 7 Demmings 6); N 31 (Co. Roush 7, Uetrecht 6)
ASSISTS: W 13 (Denham 5); N 15 (Gayheart 8)
STEALS: W 7 (Vogelpohl 4); N 6
BLOCKED SHOTS: W 5 (van der Keijl 2); N 2
TURNOVERS: W 17; N 13
