Saturday, March 6, 2004
Loss to Southern Indiana ends Shields' coaching run for NKU
Area basketball
Enquirer news services
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Southern Indiana scored the final 10 points of the game Friday night to defeat Northern Kentucky University 83-74 in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
It marked the final game for NKU head coach Ken Shields, who announced his retirement prior to the season. Shields finished his 16-year career with the Norse with a 306-170 record.
"Our guys played their hearts out, and I'm as proud of this team as any I have ever coached," Shields said. "I thought we were in good shape late in the game after we took the lead, but give Southern Indiana credit for hitting big shots."
Mike Kelsey drained a 3-pointer with 3:01 remaining in the game to give NKU a 74-73 lead. They were the final points for the Norse as the Screaming Eagles (23-5) launched their comeback run.
Southern Indiana, the No. 13 team in the NCAA Division II poll, converted five free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
Kelsey finished with a game-high 19 points for NKU (16-15).
Women: Xavier 63, Fordham 57
PHILADELPHIA -- Tara Boothe scored 21 points, including nine in the second overtime period, for the Musketeers in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Boothe also grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the year, and had four steals and two blocks.
Boothe, a sophomore from Highlands, has 999 career points.
Suntana Granderson hit four 3-pointers and finished with 22 points for Xavier.
Monica Mack tied her career high with 23 points to pace Fordham (11-17).
The Musketeers (17-11) play Temple at 4 p.m. today in the quarterfinals.
Xavier and Fordham went into the second overtime tied a 51, but Boothe gave the Musketeers the lead for good with a 3-pointer.
Olanrewaju hit a jumper and Boothe hit a layup to extend Xavier's lead to seven at 58-51 with two minutes left.
Xavier hit five free throws in the final minute, including three from Boothe and two from Alexis Henderson to seal the win.
Both teams were sluggish out of the gate, and the game was knotted at 8-all 10 minutes in.
Fordham forced the game to a 17-all halftime tie with 5.1 seconds left in the period on a runner from Mack.
The teams exchanged the lead 11 times in the second half. The Rams had a chance to win the game, but Olanrewaju stepped up to take a charge on a Mack drive with 1.9 seconds left in regulation to preserve a 44-all tie.
Granderson hit a jumper with 8.1 seconds left in the first overtime to send the game into double-overtime tied at 51.
The game is the first multiple-overtime game in the A-10 Tournament since Virginia Tech beat Dayton 73-72 in triple overtime in the quarterfinals of the 1999 tournament.
No. 11 Houston 84, Cincinnati 67
Lyttle was 15-of-19 from the field, including a breakaway after a steal. She scored 13 points as Houston (25-3) built a 22-10 lead.
Valerie King led Cincinnati (15-15) with 25 points, hitting seven of 12 3-point attempts. She broke the Conference USA record for 3-pointers made, finishing with 335 in her career.
Cincinnati kept it close until Houston put away the game away with a 21-10 run midway through the second half.
A 3-pointer by King and back-to-back layups by Treasure Humphries had pulled Cincinnati to within 48-45 before the run.
King hit a 3-pointer as she was fouled and added a free throw to cut the lead to 33-31 with 1:40 left in the half. But Houston, which led by as many as 13 in the half, scored the final seven points to lead 40-31 at halftime.
Houston faces Marquette, a 74-70 winner Friday over No. 24 DePaul, in the semifinals today.
