Northern Kentucky Tops Wingate In Women’s Basketball Elite Eight

KEARNEY, Neb. -- The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team outscored Wingate University 36-22 in the paint en route to a 78-65 NCAA Division II Elite Eight victory Wednesday afternoon in the Health & Sports Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska, Kearney.

With the victory, Northern Kentucky improves to 26-8 overall. The Bulldogs conclude the 2007-08 season 26-8 overall. The Norse will play the University of Alaska-Anchorage Thursday night at 8 p.m. EDT in the first of two national semi-finals.

Northern Kentucky junior guard Jessie Slack (Mt. Perry, Ohio) led all scorers with 20 points. She hit seven-of-13 field goals and four-of-six three-pointers. NKU senior center Angela Healy (Ft. Thomas, Ky.) had 16 points and eight rebounds, while junior forward Cassie Brannen (Cincinnati, Ohio) contributed 15 points and six rebounds.

For Wingate, senior guard Kate Edwards (Laurinburg, N.C.) had a team-high 19 points. The Bulldog sharp-shooter hit seven-of-10 field goals and four-of-six three-point field goals Wednesday. 2008 Daktronics All-American third team point guard Anna Atkinson (Marion, N.C.) had 16 points, four steals and three assists for Wingate. Bulldog senior forward/guard Kasey Gillis (Indian Trail, N.C.) contributed 12 points.

The NKU Norse were the model of consistency, hitting exactly 51.7 percent from the floor in both halves. Northern Kentucky hit 15-of-29 field goals in the first half and matched the same figures in the second half. Post players Healy, Brannen and freshman Kendra Caldwell (Xenia, Ohio) combined for 39 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists. The trio hit 16-of-27 field goal attempts (59.3 percent).

Northern Kentucky led 33-27 at intermission. The Norse scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half to take a 41-29 lead on two free throws from Brannen at the 18:18 mark. Wingate would get no closer than eight points down the stretch.

A Caldwell hoop on an assist from junior point guard Danyelle Echoles (Cincinnati, Ohio) put NKU up 57-38 with 11:11 remaining in the contest. The Norse bumped the lead to 72-50 on two free throws from senior guard Nicole Chiodi (Highland Heights, Ky.) with 5:13 to play. The 22-point lead was Northern Kentucky's biggest of the afternoon.

Thanks to Chiodi's team-best nine rebounds, Northern Kentucky outrebounded Wingate 40-35. The Norse hit seven-of-14 three-point field goals (50 percent) and converted all 11 of their free throw attempts. Northern Kentucky committed 18 turnovers, but the Bulldogs could manage only 14 points from the Norse miscues. NKU scored 18 points as a result of 11 Wingate turnovers.

After a tough first half, Wingate settled down to hit 44.1 percent (15-of-34) of its second-half field goal attempts. Wingate converted 26-of-69 field goals Wednesday (37.7 percent). The Bulldogs made six-of-13 three-pointers on the day, with Edwards topping the charts with four triples. Atkinson and sophomore forward Sarah Rosser (Raleigh, N.C.) hit one three-pointer each.

In the first half, Northern Kentucky concluded the stanza with a 10-2 to take a 33-27 lead at intermission. Norse sophomore guard Rachel Lantry (Ludlow, Ky.) hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put NKU up 33-25 with 2:12 to go in the first frame. The eight-point advantage was Northern Kentucky's largest of the opening 20 minutes.

Wingate led 25-23 when Atkinson hit a trifecta from the top of the key at the 6:08 mark. The Bulldogs would not score another field goal until sophomore center Erica Crumlin (Irmo, S.C.) hit a jumper from the elbow with 12.4 seconds remaining before halftime. The Crumlin hoop cut Wingate's deficit to 33-27 at halftime.

The Bulldogs hit only 31.4 percent of their first half field goals (11-of-35). The Norse countered with 51.7 percent shooting in the opening frame (15-of-29). Atkinson led Wingate with 10 first-half points. Healy had eight points for NKU, while Slack contributed seven markers in the first half.

Wingate won the 2008 South Atlantic Regional tournament to advance to its third Elite Eight in school history. The Bulldogs also won the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament this year to earn the league's automatic qualification to the NCAA Division II play-offs. After a 2-4 start to the season, Wingate won 24 of 28 games to complete the 2007-08 campaign 26-8 overall. The Bulldogs will lose seniors Edwards and Gillis to graduation. Twelve letter winners will return for the 2008-09 season.

QUOTES

Wingate head coach Barbara Nelson:

"I am so proud of this team. They play very hard. I thought our effort and our desire was tremendous (today)."

"We thought we would have a better chance in a full-court game. We missed too many easy shots in the first half. I thought size was a tremendous factor (in the outcome of his ballgame).

Wingate senior guard Kate Edwards, commenting on the season:
"When Coach Nelson arrived, every player had a clean slate. Kasey (Gillis) and I wanted to be leaders. I think we did a good job (in our leadership roles). From day one, our practices and workouts were very competitive. Every player wanted to be there and wanted to work hard."

Wingate junior point guard Anna Atkinson, commenting on the prospects for next year:
"This Elite Eight experience is very good for us. We will miss our seniors and their excellent leadership. We will work as hard as we can in the off-season to get ready for next year. We want to return to the Elite Eight."

NORTHERN KENTUCKY WOMEN 78, WINGATE 65
NORTHERN KENTUCKY (26-8 overall)
Slack, Jessie 7-13 2-2 20; Healy, Angela 7-10 2-2 16; Brannen, Cassie 5-11 5-5 15; Caldwell, Kendra 4-6 0-0 8; Lantry, Rachel 3-6 0-0 8; Chiodi, Nicole 2-6 2-2 6; Echoles, Danyelle 1-5 0-0 3; Brackman, Karen 1-1 0-0 2; Holliday, Diondra 0-0 0-0 0; Wendeln, Jessica 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-58 11-11 78.
WINGATE (26-8 overall)
Edwards, Kate 7-10 1-2 19; Atkinson, Anna 5-16 5-6 16; Gillis, Kasey 6-15 0-0 12; Shuey, Stefani 4-5 1-1 9; Crumlin, Erica 2-12 0-2 4; Rosser, Sarah 1-2 0-0 3; Rhodes, Stacie 1-3 0-2 2; Brooks, CC 0-2 0-2 0; Mincey, Paige 0-0 0-0 0; Keitt, Jessy 0-3 0-0 0; Parrish, Emily 0-0 0-0 0; West, Brittany 0-1 0-0 0; Beeson, Lauren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-69 7-15 65.

Northern Kentucky............. 33 45 - 78
Wingate....................... 27 38 - 65

3-point goals--Northern Kentucky 7-14 (Slack, Jessie 4-6; Lantry, Rachel 2-3; Echoles, Danyelle 1-3; Brannen, Cassie 0-1; Healy, Angela 0-1), Wingate 6-13 (Edwards, Kate 4-6; Atkinson, Anna 1-4; Rosser, Sarah 1-2; West, Brittany 0-1). Fouled out--Northern Kentucky-None, Wingate-None. Rebounds--Northern Kentucky 40 (Chiodi, Nicole 9), Wingate 35 (Shuey, Stefani 6; Crumlin, Erica 6). Assists--Northern Kentucky 23 (Slack, Jessie 5), Wingate 10 (Atkinson, Anna 3). Total fouls--Northern Kentucky 11, Wingate 10. Technical fouls--Northern Kentucky-None, Wingate-None. A-650
2008 NCAA Division II Elite Eight (national quarter-finals), game two
Northern Kentucky plays Alaska-Anchorage Thursday night at 8 p.m. EDT