Southern Indiana (20-7, 11-5 GLVC): 75
at Northern Kentucky (19-7, 13-4 GLVC): 72 (2 ot)
Box Score
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky.—The University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat Northern Kentucky University, 75-72, in double overtime Thursday evening.
USI (20-7, 11-5 GLVC), which overcame a 13-point deficit in the first half before cutting the Norse's cushion to 30-28 at the break, used a 9-2 run to begin second overtime period to forge a 68-61 advantage.
Northern Kentucky (19-7, 13-4 GLVC), however, drained half of its six three-pointers in the second overtime to cut the Screaming Eagles' lead to one point with nine seconds to play.
Junior guard Ellen Young, though, sunk two free throws in the final three seconds and the Norse were unable to get a shot off as the clock ran out, giving the Eagles their first regular-season sweep over Northern Kentucky since the 1996-97 season.
More importantly, the Eagles gained a huge advantage in post-season positioning. USI's two-game sweep gives the Eagles an edge over the Norse in any tie-breaking scenarios for both the GLVC and NCAA II Tournaments. The Eagles, who have won three straight games, trailed Northern Kentucky in the latest NCAA II Midwest Region rankings—USI was eighth and NKU was seventh.
USI also keeps its hopes of hosting a first and second-round cluster in the GLVC Tournament alive—the Eagles need to win their final two games and have Northern Kentucky lose to No. 4 University of Indianapolis Saturday.
Early on, though, USI's chances of getting a first-round bye in the GLVC Tournament seemed to be dwindling as the Eagles missed 14 of their first 15 shots and trailed 19-6 with 11 minutes to play in the first half.
USI got a three-pointer from junior guard Lauren Meneghetti and another from Young to start a 15-4 run that put the Eagles back into the contest.
Despite scoring the final four points of the first period, the Eagles struggled in the opening stages of the second half. The Eagles made just one of their first eight shots in the second period as Northern Kentucky forged a 42-30 lead with 14:22 to play in regulation.
Senior guard/forward Abby Williams, who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds to record her first double-double of the year, drained a three-pointer with 14:09 to play in the second half to begin a 15-2 run that gave USI its first lead since grabbing a 2-0 advantage early in the contest.
USI rallied from a four-point deficit 10 minutes later and had a chance to win the game in regulation, but a missed shot by Young in the final seconds allowed the Norse to stay alive.
Northern Kentucky scored in the final two seconds of the first overtime period to force double overtime, but Young drained a three-pointer to start the period and give USI a 62-59 edge. Young pushed the Eagles' lead to seven with a pair of free throws and a layup before the Norse closed the gap to a single point with three shots from behind the arc.
In addition to Williams, the Eagles got a team-high 19 points and four assists from Young. Meneghetti and junior guard Amie Newhart each finished with 10 points, while junior forward/center Stephanie McSparin finished with nine points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Northern Kentucky, which saw its 10-game winning streak end, got a game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds from senior forward Brandi Rayburn as well as 18 points from sophomore guard Casse Mogan.
The Eagles wrap up their final regular-season road trip Saturday at 4:45 p.m. (CST) when they travel to Louisville, Kentucky, to take on Bellarmine University. The Knights (16-10, 9-8 GLVC) defeated Kentucky Wesleyan College 85-46 Thursday evening.
