HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - A late Drury comeback fell just short, as Northern Kentucky withstood the Lady Panthers run for a 66-62 victory in a Great Lakes Valley Conference matchup of traditional powers at The Bank of Kentucky Center on Thursday night.
Ja'Nell Jones scored a season-high 19 points and Melanie Oliver added 15 points and 15 rebounds for her DU-record 22nd double-double of her career, but it wasn't enough to keep the Lady Panthers from having a five-game winning streak snapped and falling to 18-5 overall and 10-2 in the GLVC.
Down nine points (61-52) with 4:40 left in the game, the Lady Panthers came up with a 7-0 run on baskets by Erica Groose and Oliver sandwiching a Lindsay Ballweg 3-pointer to make it 61-59 after Oliver's jumper with 2:49 to go.
Two free throws by Rachel Lantry, who scored a career-high 18 points, pushed it back to four with 2:15 to go, but matching free throws from Jones, an NKU turnover, and Oliver's free throw made it a 63-62 game with 1:25 to go.
The Lady Panthers had three shots at taking the lead from there, including a 3-point attempt by Katie Pritchard with five seconds left, but couldn't get the big shot to fall as Lantry hit three free throws in the final 26 seconds, including one with two seconds remaining for the final four-point lead as NKU won its seventh straight game - and improved to 12-1 at home this season - in pushing its overall records to 16-6 overall and 10-3 in the GLVC.
"We've got to learn to play 40 minutes," Drury coach Steve Harold said. "It came down to execution, and we didn't. I thought Ja'Nell played outstanding, and she and Melanie were very solid. But it takes a team to win."
Ballweg added 14 points for the Lady Panthers, who trailed 40-32 at halftime after Lantry hit a 3-pointer just before the horn. The Norse were boosted by a 16-for-27 shooting effort in the first half (59 percent) before hitting just 8 of 21 (38 percent) after halftime to finish at 50 percent (24 of 48).
Drury, meanwhile, shot a season-low .396 percent, hitting just 8 of 25 shots (32 percent) after halftime. The Lady Panthers, who lead the nation in 3-point FG percentage, made just 3 of 12 from behind the line after going 3 for 15 in Saturday's win at Maryville.
With Oliver's 15 boards leading the way, the Lady Panthers beat the taller Norse 34-25 on the boards.
Drury concludes the four-game GLVC road trip with a noon (CST) game at undefeated and nationally second-ranked Indianapolis on Saturday. The Greyhounds defeated visiting Rockhurst 97-50 on Thursday.
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