Jan. 29, 2009

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ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Sophomore Jenny Turpel (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) scored 17 points but defending national champion and current No. 2 in the country Northern Kentucky defeated Lewis 66-56 on Thursday evening at Neil Carey Arena in a Great lakes Valley Conference game.

The game was tight throughout the first 15 minutes. But a 13-2 run by the Norse turned a 27-26 score into a 40-28 halftime lead. Northern Kentucky opened up their largest lead of the game at 12 with 15:44 remaining in the second, but the Flyers would chip away at the deficit. A trey by freshman Sierra West (Hartford, Wis./Slinger) cut the lead to six with 11:39 left. Northern Kentucky extended the lead to 10 before sophomore Kady Currin (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton) hit one of two free throws to cut it to six again at the 7:30 mark. A three-pointer by senior Jenna Mooberry (Byron, Ill./Byron) cut it to six once more with 1:05 left, but this would be as close as the Flyers would get. Northern Kentucky made all six free throws down the stretch to ice the contest and walk away with the victory.

"A loss never feels good, and at this level there are no moral victories," head coach Lisa Carlsen said. "But we can look at the film and see the chances that were there for the next time we play them."

Northern Kentucky's Jessie Slack scored 18 points, but the Flyers held her scoreless in the second half.

Mooberry finished with nine points, nine boards and three assists. In addition to her 17 points, Turpel also added seven boards, three steals and three blocks. West had nine points of the bench for the Flyers.

Lewis shot 38 percent (19-50), while the Norse shot 53.3 percent (24-45).

"They shot the ball well, but that's what good teams do," Carlsen said.

Northern Kentucky improves to 17-1 (9-1 GLVC). Lewis falls to 9-10 (5-5 GLVC). The Flyers are back in action on Saturday, hosting Bellarmine at 1 p.m.