NKU women’s basketball caps regular season with win
Trinity Thompson picks up first collegiate double-double
February 26, 2022
The NKU women’s basketball team celebrated senior day on Saturday afternoon, beating the Detroit Mercy Titans 67-44. The win secures the Norse’s first 20-win season in two years, moving to 20-7 overall and 14-6 in conference. Detroit Mercy drops to 1-26 overall, including a 1-21 conference mark.
“It just means a lot that my family got to be here and I got to be with my teammates and coaches,” said lone senior celebrant Grayson Rose.
UDM made their first four shots en route to shooting 58 percent in the first quarter. The Titans built a three-point lead after one quarter, seeing contributions from five different players.
On the offensive end, the Norse were unable to convert close from point-blank range, making only three of eight layups early. Additionally, they scored just eight points off of 11 Titan turnovers.
“At the end of the day, we are who we are at this point in the season, and our kids have to be ready to go.” Whitaker said.
A layup by Trinity Thompson broke the spell and ignited the offense. Soon after, Ivy Turner
drained a three. A Khamari Mitchell-Steen layup extended the Norse run to seven straight points, forcing a Detroit timeout.
Over the final 4:24, the Norse scored thirteen straight points to end the half, capped off by Kennedy Igo finding Rose for a buzzer-beating three. The bucket gave her the team lead with nine points. Leading scorer Lindsey Duvall was held scoreless, but pulled down seven rebounds.
NKU outscored Detroit in the second quarter 17-2, holding the Titans to two points on seven percent shooting. Buoyed by strong shooting in the second period, NKU shot 33 percent from the field in the first half.Thanks to a 15-point first quarter, Brandi Washingotn and Imani McNeal led the Titans with five first half points.
The Norse got five quick points from Duvall to start the second half. Contrary to the first half, NKU shot 53 percent from the field in the third quarter, expanding their lead to 27 heading into the final 10 minutes.
In her final regular season home game, Rose finished with 12 points and three rebounds. Her final rebound moved her into third all-time in rebounds, passing Amy Mobley. She now has 813 for her career. Despite the individual accomplishment, Rose’s eyes are on the bigger picture.
“We got our twentieth win today, and that’s really all we care about. Now, pull that momentum into the tournament, win four more games, and go to the NCAA Tournament.” Rose said.
A strong second half from Thompson gave her first double-double in a Norse uniform. The freshman from Gary, Indiana finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds in only 15 minutes on the court. She credits Rose for pushing her everyday in practice.
“Coach tells me all the time, ‘If you can score on Grayson, then you can score against anybody.’” Thompson said.
Joelle Johnson matched Thompson’s point total, becoming the third NKU player to finish in double figures. NKU outrebounded Detroit 45-40, improving to 18-1 when they out rebound their opponent.
After trailing by as many as 34, the Titans closed the final margin to 23 behind seven points from Washington, who finished with a team-high 12 points.
With the win, NKU secures a fifth place finish in the Horizon League standings. NKU now faces a first round rematch with Detroit Mercy on Tuesday at 7 p.m. inside BB&T Arena.