MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – RMU fell to 11-5 overall and 4-3 in Horizon League action following an 81-76 loss to Northern Kentucky at home on Saturday morning. 
 
FIRST QUARTER

• The Norse offense got started quickly to open the match, going on an 11-0 run, featuring three baskets from deep to start the contest before the Colonials got on the board at 5:48 to make it 11-2 on a Noa Givon layup from Myriam Traore
• Northern Kentucky went on a 5-0 run to extend its lead to 15, leading the Colonials 17-2 before RMU went on a 5-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 10 with 2:26 left in the quarter after an Ava Leroux three and another Givon layup.
• A three-point basket by Northern Kentucky's Taysha Rushton gave the Norse a 22-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

• Back-to-back buckets by Aislin Malcolm made it 24-13 before the Norse extended the lead on a Mya Meredith three-point basket to make it 27-13 with 8:42 on the clock.
• An Eva Levingston made free throw cut Northern Kentucky's lead down to 11, with the Colonials trailing 37-26.
• Aislin Malcolm knocked down a quick three with 39 seconds on the clock to make it 43-30 going into the half.
• The Colonials shot 53.8% in the second quarter, going 7-for-13 from the floor while shooting 6-for-9 from the charity stripe.

THIRD QUARTER

• The Colonials started off the third quarter with back-to-back buckets from Levingston and Malcolm to make it 43-34.
• A 6-0 run by the Colonials brought RMU within single digits of the Norse, with a Malcolm jumper making it 47-40 with 5:43 on the clock.
• Back-to-back three-point buckets from Malcolm and Traore brought the Colonials within two before NKU extended their lead back to five with a three-point basket of their own from Karina Bystry to make it 53-48.
• The final basket of the quarter came with 1:55 on the clock as NKU got a basket from Abby Wolterman in the paint to give the Norse a five-point lead going into the final quarter. 

FOURTH QUARTER

• RMU got themselves within one after a Jada Lee pull up for her first basket of the afternoon, with 8:18 on the clock, made it 56-55.
• The Norse quickly extended their lead with a 6-0 run to put them back out in front of RMU 62-55 following a jump shot by Bystry.
• With one minute remaining, a Myriam Traore layup off an assist from Givon cut the Norse lead down to just three, with NKU leading 77-74.
• A 4-0 run by NKU over the last minute of the contest shut the door on the Colonials and put the game out of reach with RMU only able to get a pair of made free throws to make it 81-76. 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
For the Colonials, Aislin Malcolm led RMU with 23 points, her second performance in a row with 20 points or more, on 7-for-15 shooting from the floor. Malcolm also went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Eva Levingston provided a big spark for the Colonials, tying her career-high with 18 points along with seven rebounds. Levingston went 6-for-8 from both the floor and the charity stripe. Ava Leroux came off the bench for the Colonials and picked up 10 points in 14 minutes played to round out double-digit scorers for RMU. Levingston's seven rebounds led the Colonials while Bailey Kuhns and Noa Givon each recorded six.
 
Northern Kentucky's Karina Bystry led all scorers with 23 points along with six rebounds. Taysha Rushton (19) and Mya Meredith (17) were the other big offensive pieces for the Norse.

As a team, RMU shot 42.1% from the floor, highlighted by 53.6% in the second quarter on 7-for-13 shooting. The Colonials went 24-29 from the free throw line, for 82.8% shooting in the contest.
 
Northern Kentucky held the advantage on the glass, edging RMU 35-33 in rebounding. RMU forced 14 turnovers by the Norse while the Colonials themselves had 13.

UP NEXT
The Colonials will close out their three-game homestand with a matchup against IU Indy next Thursday at the UPMC Events Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh.