Box Score

Maryville-NKU Boxscore in PDF

Photos from the game versus NKU

Prior to Maryville's SCHEELS Great Lakes Valley Conference quarterfinal tournament game, Shelby Miller was presented with her award for being named the league's Freshman of the Year. During the game, she showed why she was worthy of the award.

Miller tied a GLVC tournament record with 34 points to lead No. 5 seed Maryville to an 80-70 upset over No. 4 seed and 25th-ranked Northern Kentucky in Springfield, Ill. The Saints led the entire way in defeating a ranked team for the second time this season. Maryville advances to the semifinals to take on top-seeded Quincy Saturday, March 3, at 2:30 p.m.

"That was an unbelieveable first half performance by Shelby," Maryville head women's basketball coach Chris Ellis said. "Not only is she the GLVC Freshman of the year, she was the best player in the building tonight. Shelby is the best 100 pounds of basketball in the US."
 
In a forshadowing of what was to come in the first half, Miller drained a trey to open the game to put the Saints on top. After NKU cut the lead to 5-4, JoAnn Thompson scored, and Rita Flynn followed with a layup. A Miller drive and layup built an 11-4 lead for Maryville. The Norse converted a long jumper to cut the Saints’ lead to 15-8 but Maryville reeled off a stunning 15-1 burst. Brittany Fish drilled a 3-pointer to start the run, and Duethman converted inside. NKU hit one free throw, but the Saints then scored nine straight. Samantha Robison hit one from deep, and Miller added two straight jumpers and two free throws for a 30-9 lead with 7:58 left in the first half.
 
The Norse sliced the margin to 12 but Maryville answered with an 11-3 run with Miller keying the streak. She started the sequence with a jumper, and after a Deuthman bucket, Miller added two free throws. The Norse sank a 3-pointer but Miller answered with a trey and free throw. Erica Lorton made one free throw, and Miller buried another 3-pointer to stretch Maryville’s lead to 44-21. NKU scored seven straight before Miller fed Rita Flynn with a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer for a 47-28 lead at the break. Miller finished the half with a career-high tying 26 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
 
As she did to start the first half, Miller drained a 3-pointer to begin the second half. The Saints took their biggest lead of the night at 52-29 when Thompson sank a jumper, but the nationally-ranked Norse made a big charge. NKU scored 10 straight points before a Flynn jumper in the lane stemmed the tide for a 54-39 lead. However, NKU kept coming and trimmed its deficit to 54-46 with 13:16 left in the game. Duethman hit a 3-pointer from the left win to rebuild a double-digit lead at 57-46. Northern Kentucky sank two free throws but Miller drained a long 3-point shot from the right wing for a 61-52 edge with 9:24 remaining. Maryville scored five straight on a Flynn layup and Childs three-point play for a 66-55 lead. NKU made one more charge and closed to 66-62 with just over four minutes to play. The Saints answered with a three-point play by Childs. After forcing a turnover, Thompson added another three-point sequence to push the advantage to 72-62. The Norse got as close as 74-68 with 1:32 left, but the Saints, who are second in the nation in free throw shooting, hit six straight free throws down the strech to seal the victory.
 
Miller finished the evening shooting 11-of-15 from the field, 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. She also led the team with four steals. Miller's 34 points are the fourth most in program history and marked the first time a Maryville player had scored at least 30 points in a game since Jan. 23, 2003. Flynn also recorded a career high with 15 points, while Duethman chipped in eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Casse Mogan, the GLVC Player of the Year, led NKU with 23 points and added eight rebounds.

The Saints improve to 17-11, while Northern Kentucky falls to 21-6.