The first five minutes of the Northern Kentucky women’s basketball game versus Ball State were action-packed. Both teams were trading buckets back and forth as it looked like this game would be a thriller, but Ball State had other plans.
With the game all tied up at ten apiece, Ball State had the ball. The Cardinals’ Giorgia Gorini made space, got to her spot and shot the three-ball. It clanked off the back iron as Aniss Tagayi snatched the ball out of the air.
Tagayi brought down the ball and put it back up right away and scored over multiple NKU defenders, pushing the game to 12-10. But the Cardinals weren’t done.
The very next trip, Tagayi got a steal. Ball State was out and running, the ball didn’t stick as it was pushed up to Zuri Ransom, who whipped it over to Gorini, and this time she didn’t miss, “Swish.” This put the Cardinals up by five, and once again, they just kept going.
Ball State went on a 13-3 run to close out the first quarter and opened the second quarter on a 14-0 run, taking the game right out of NKU’s hands in a matter of minutes. The Norse kept even with Ball State throughout the rest of the game, losing 95-64, dropping their record to 0-3 on the season.
Senior guard for Ball State, Bree Salenbien, a former four-star recruit, gave NKU the work on both ends of the floor. She was getting to her spots at will, shooting 6-9 from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line. The former Gonzaga player put up 20 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Six of Salenbien’s seven rebounds came on the offensive end as she had multiple second-chance opportunities for her and her teammates.
Even with a rough first half for the Norse, Mya Meredith was a glimmer of hope as she put up 18 points. 14 of her points came in the second half as she fought hard, ultimately not being enough. Meredith shot 7-12 from the field, 3-4 at the line and grabbed three rebounds.
Abby Wolterman and Kylee Hunt both scored eight points apiece. Wolterman had six rebounds, three of them coming on the offensive end. Hunt had a season high in points, going 2-3 from three-point range.
Karsyn Norman for Ball State also played well against NKU, but was all over the floor. She finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. The Junior shot 7-15 from the field and 2-2 at the line.
The Norse had another high turnover game with 21. They are averaging 19.7 turnovers per game through the first three games of the season. Head Coach Jeff Hans knows they need to fix the turnover issues.
“That is an issue we must fix. Offensive execution will help reduce this number. There were multiple times we couldn’t pass and catch,” said Hans
The women’s team also struggled defensively. Ball State scored 95 points in the game, had 14 second-chance points and went on a 32-3 run in ten minutes of play. What gave the Norse the most trouble on offense, in Hans’ opinion, was Ball State’s ability to get stops and push in transition.
“Their defense led to offense with points off turnovers and getting stops to push in transition,” Hans said. “In the half court, Ball State did a good job of executing their offense and we didn’t do a good job of guarding them off their screens.”
With Meredith’s 18-point performance, Hans hopes she can continue to build upon her play.
“Mya did a good job of attacking the basket in the 2nd half, which opened up some perimeter shots for her. It was good to see her make a few of those and I hope she can continue to build on this performance,” Hans said.