Second Half Run Fuels St. Norbert to Win Over Dubuque

From Sports Information Director, November 20, 2009 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College used an 18-4 run in the second half to break open a close game and went on to claim a 74-48 win over the University of Dubuque in the opening game of the St. Norbert Tip-Off Tournament at Schuldes Sports Center.

The Green Knights (1-0) will face UW-La Crosse (2-0) in the championship game of the tournament at 3 p.m. Saturday. Dubuque (1-1) will face Aurora (0-1) in the consolation game at 1 p.m.

St. Norbert led 34-27 at halftime before the Spartans trimmed the deficit to 36-35 with an 8-2 run in the first three minutes of the second half. But the Green Knights' Denise Heuser canned a 3-pointer from the right wing to stem the tide, and two Dubuque turnovers were converted into a pair of Jamie Kuhl layups for a 43-35 advantage. St. Norbert never led by less than six points after that, leading by as many as 27 points.

Dubuque's relentless full-court pressure kept the visitors in the game the first 25 minutes. But the Spartans were forced into 30 turnovers of their own. Dubuque shot just 31 percent from the floor and was led by Jennifer Nichols' 11 points.

St. Norbert shot 45.5 percent from the floor, making 25 of 55 field goals. Denise Heuser led a balanced scoring effort with 20 points in 23 minutes. Erin Baganz scored seven points, while Emily Otzelberger, Stefanie Bunday, Kristin Zimmerman and Krista Hawkinson each had six points.