By Matt Humphrey
Special to the Enquirer

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Whoever said pain always equaled gain? It certainly didn't for Northern Kentucky University's women's basketball team Saturday.

Bumped, bruised and knocked around by a physical South Dakota State team, the Norse realized pain but didn't gain a second national championship, losing 65-50 in the NCAA Division II title game at St. Joseph Civic Arena.

"The game was very physical, but we knew it was going to be that way coming in," said Norse senior Amy Mobley.

South Dakota State (32-3) outrebounded Northern Kentucky (26-8) by 12 and imposed its will on both sides of the floor.

The Jackrabbits shot only 35 percent from the field (20-of-58), but that wasn't a testament to NKU's defense. The Jackrabbits dominated inside, evidenced by Melissa Pater's game highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds.

The Norse shot 34 percent from the field (18-of-53) but hit just five of their 22 shots in the first half and 10 of 21 free throws overall. They shot 4-of-20 from 3-point range.

"They're tough," Norse coach Nancy Winstel said of the Jackrabbits. "They can run, and even if you slow them down, they pound it inside.

"I felt like we did some things well, but we just couldn't make any shots. We kept missing some easy shots and then we'd work our butts off to get to the free throw line and then we couldn't make any free throws, either."

Connie Myers and Sharell Snardon led NKU with 12 points apiece, and Mobley added 11 points and seven rebounds. But that trio couldn't rescue the Norse from their 21 turnovers and their inability to match up with the stronger Jackrabbits.

The Norse never led and pulled no closer than five points after Snardon, a freshman reserve, hit a layup with 11:55 remaining in the first half.

That was the only score for the Norse during a 10-minute stretch that ended with a Mobley layup four minutes later.

"The fact is we turned the ball over 16 times in the first half," Mobley said. "You're not going to get many shots when you do that. And as far as rebounding, (South Dakota State) just battled and we missed some box outs. That's about it."

NKU trailed 32-17 at halftime after SDSU completed a 9-2 run. Jackrabbits junior Stacie Cizek capped it with a 3-pointer that had most of the 2,556 in attendance celebrating.

It also set the tone for a second half, when the Jackrabbits never lost control. Norse senior Bridget Flanagan hit a 3-pointer with 13:41 left to cut NKU's disadvantage to nine points at 38-29, but the Norse could get no closer.

It just was that kind of game.

"We came out with more intensity than we had in the first half, but they just had more than we did," said Flanagan, whose eyes were filled with tears for much of the postgame press conference.

With 41 seconds left, Winstel pulled her starters and hugged each one as they walked to the bench. She shared a longer embrace with Flanagan, who was a key member of the Norse's 2000 national championship team.

"I've been coaching for a long, long time, but this is a very special group," Winstel said.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (32-3) - Davis 2-7 6-7 10, Pater 7-12 8-10 22, Schlagel 2-7 1-2 5, Cizek 1-7 0-0 3, Sieler 3-5 5-5 11, Bolden 0-3 0-0 0, Otte 1-4 0-0 2, Dickmeyer 1-6 0-0 3, Hegge 2-4 3-3 7, Gilbert 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 20-58 23-27 65.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY (26-8) - Mobley 4-9 1-3 11, Flanagan 3-13 0-0 8, Polosky 1-7 3-5 5, Burrows 0-3 2-2 2, Myers 6-11 0-5 12, Marx 0-0 0-0 0, Sterling 0-1 0-0 0, Snardon 4-7 4-6 12, Philips 0-0 0-0 0, Brock 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 18-53 10-21 50.

Halftime: SDSU 32-17. 3-pointers: SDSU 2-18 (Davis 0-2, Cizek 1-5, Sieler 0-2, Bolden 0-1, Otte 0-2, Dickmeyer 1-6); NKU 4-20 (Mobley 2-6, Flanagan 2-8, Polosky 0-2, Burrows 0-2, Brock 0-2).