On a cold Thursday evening, fans filled the arena wearing their Halloween costumes to watch the Northern Kentucky Norse kick off their season with an exhibition match against Division III Wilmington College.
The women came out hot, with a dump down to Maddie Moody. She went to work, spinning on her defender, creating some space and found an open hole as she hit the layup, getting the first points on the board for the Norse.
After that bucket, the Norse were off and running, going on a 20-0 run to start the game. From there, the Norse were on a roll, getting the win, 86-27.
Moody put on a show for the fans, posting a game-high 16 points. She was efficient, shooting 8-9 (88%) from the field, scoring the ball at will, getting her way in the post. Moody also grabbed seven rebounds, three of those coming from the offensive end.
Karina Bystry was the second leading scorer for the Norse, posting 11. Then followed up by Mya Meredith, who had 10. They both had three steals on the defensive end and Meredith grabbed three offensive rebounds.
Taysha Rushton was all over the floor; she finished with nine points, four assists and four steals in just 13 minutes of action.
Abbey Wolterman also played 13 minutes, scoring eight points, nine rebounds and two steals. She was efficient, shooting 50% from the field.
All 15 players saw game action, with the least amount of minutes played being seven.
The Norse were all around dominant, leading in all major statistical categories, shooting 46% from the field and 21% from three. They also led in points from turnovers (40), paint points (58), second chance points (28), fast breaks (16) and scoring off the bench (39).
Head Coach Jeff Hans spoke about how his players played in their first game together.
“ Yeah, I thought we played well together. I think we can do a better job of finishing some of those easy shots. We get a lot more assists, and that number looks better than what it was tonight. We’ve got to concentrate a little bit more and finish.” Hans went on to say, “But, you know, for the most part, I thought we played well together defensively. Didn’t really let them get into their stuff and do what they needed to or they’re like, want to do, and so that’s we’re more together there on that end, and maybe on the offensive end sometimes.”
With basically a whole new roster outside of six players, and all 15 of them playing. The player that stuck out the most to Hans was Moody, but it wasn’t just her; it was the whole team as well.
“I thought Maddie Moody stood out, not necessarily just scoring, but her ability to rebound, and she did some things defensively. Abby Wolterman did a good job on the boards, and that’s one thing that we just need to continue to do, and go do those things and finish, you know, and execution with that part of it.” Hans said,” Overall, I thought, I thought it was a good effort. I thought we played hard. I thought we competed at a high level, which is something we’ve talked about in practice, and, you know, we keep doing those things and just work on getting better every day.”