Northern Kentucky Sports Chronicle

(This article was originally published on March 27, 2000) By Sean Keeler Post staff reporter PINE BLUFF, Ark. — The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team, coming off a 2000 NCAA Division II national championship Saturday, has more than enough pieces coming back this fall to make a repeat run. NKU returns all five starters from this season's national champion. The roster is composed of four juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen. While the program has maintained a standard of excellence — a 62-5 record over the last two seasons, 32 wins this year — the Norse know they've become an extra-special marquee game for their opponents next season. “We already know we have a big target on our backs for next season,” said junior guard Michele Tuchfarber, who had nine points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 71-62 overtime win over North Dakota State. It’s a role that was more familiar to the favored Bison, whose program had won five national titles. I

(This story was originally published on Nov. 12, 2011) HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — For their 40th birthday on Saturday, the Norse of Northern Kentucky University blew out the candles. Then, they blew away UC-Clermont. NKU opened the game with a 38-8 run and cruised to a 106-58 victory over visiting UC-Clermont. Given it was the 40th anniversary of the program’s first-ever game, the Norse appropriately built a 40-point halftime lead (64-24) by shooting 61.1 percent from the field. “We moved the ball really well in the first half and knocked down open shots, and that allowed us to build a huge lead,” NKU head coach Dave Bezold said. “We were able to get everyone in the game, and it was a nice way to begin the regular season.” Jon Van Hoose led NKU (1-0) with 17 points, going 5-for-8 from 3-point range. DeAndre Nealy added 16 points and nine rebounds in his Norse debut, while Stretch Watson finished with 14 points and nine boards. Ethan Faulkner scored 13 points, dished out six assists and co

___________________ (This story was originally published on Feb. 22, 1990) HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Hitting a last-second shot to beat an undefeated opponent is a basketball player's dream. Northern Kentucky University’s Valerie Gaerke lived out that dream on Thursday night in Regents Hall. “I knew time was running down, and it was either going into overtime or we would get the last shot and win the game,” Gaerke said of her short jumper with one second remaining that gave the Lady Norse a heart-stopping 82-80 win over previously unbeaten St. Joseph’s. “I didn't want to make another pass, so I drove in, put it up and luckily, it went in.” In doing so, the 5-foot-10 sophomore from Ft. Recovery, Ohio, ended the Lady Pumas’ 24-game winning-streak and boosted Northern's record to 17-7, 10-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. St. Joseph’s dropped to 24-1, 14-1 in the GLVC. Gaerke finished the game with only five points, but the sophomore wasn't 100 percent, either. “We wer

NKU’s Paul Cluxton, LaRon Moore, Andre McClendon and Ken Shields after defeating Virginia Union. ---------------- (This story was originally published in The Kentucky Post on March 22, 1996) By Tom Gamble Kentucky Post sports editor LOUISVILLE — After spending more than three decades on the sideline and winning almost 600 career games, Northern Kentucky University basketball coach Ken Shields can sense when a team has what it takes to win. And Shields has that feeling. One night after sophomore guard Andy Listerman scored a career-high 19 points, including the game-winning layup with 2.8 seconds left to give NKU a 56-55 win over Cal State Bakersfield, the Norse found another way to win. Thursday, it was junior forward LaRon Moore who came up with the big shot — a turnaround jumper with just 3.2 seconds remaining (pictured on right) — that enabled NKU to beat Virginia Union, 68-66, in an NCAA Division II semifinal game before a crowd of 2,596 at the Commonwealth Convention Center. As a