NKyTribune staff
INDIANAPOLIS — Sydney Hall scored a game-high 16 points as the IUPUI women’s basketball team posted a 60-44 win over Northern Kentucky University in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament on Tuesday night.
Holly Hoopingarner and Tamya Sims each added 10 points for IUPUI, which held NKU to 30.6 percent shooting from the field. The fourth-seeded Jaguars (20-10) outscored the fifth-seeded Norse 22-12 in the fourth quarter to pull away and advance to the Horizon League semifinals.
Freshman guard Taylor Clos led NKU with 13 points against IUPUI on Tuesday night. (Photo by Chloe Smith/NKU Athletics Communications)
Niece, who led NKU with three assists against IUPUI, was one of five rookies named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team on Tuesday. The Simon Kenton graduate led NKU in scoring during the Horizon League season at 12.1 points per game.
Niece also recorded NKU’s first points/assists double-double in the Division I era earlier this season with 12 points and 11 assists versus Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 2.
McDONALD EARNS HONOR: NKU’s Drew McDonald was named Horizon League Player of the Year on Tuesday. The Norse’s Jalen Tate earned a spot of the Horizon League All-Defensive Team.
McDonald ranks second in the conference in scoring (19.6 points per game), but averages a league-best 9.6 rebounds per contest for NKU, which secured a share of its second straight Horizon League regular-season championship.
In the regular-season finale against Green Bay, McDonald set NKU’s career-scoring record, surpassing Craig Sanders’ 2,007 points. In the process, McDonald became just the third player in the 40-year history of the Horizon League to eclipse 2,000 points (2,011) and 1,000 rebounds (1,051).
NKU meets Detroit Mercy in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament at 7 p.m. Wednesday at BB&T Arena. NKU is 23-8 and the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League, while Detroit Mercy is 11-19 and the No. 7 seed.
(Information compiled from NKU Athletics Communications and staff reports)
