Nennig Leads Purdue Northwest Women in 66-56 Home Loss to Tiffin
WESTVILLE, Ind. – Freshman Danielle Nennig (Wrightstown, Wis./Wrightstown) finished with 13 points to lead the Purdue Northwest women’s basketball team, but visiting Tiffin University (Ohio) claimed the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) victory, 66-56, Thursday evening at H.D. Kesling Gymnasium at the Dworkin Complex in Westville, Ind. With the score tied 33-33 at the break, the Pride struggled offensively in the second half scoring just 23 points over the final two quarters of play.
Freshmen Lanie Allen (East Noble, Ind./East Noble) and Taylor Vauters (Rockville, Ind./Riverton Parke) each scored eight points for PNW. Allen also led Purdue Northwest on the boards with eight rebounds on the night. Senior Ellie Michalski (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) chipped in six points and six rebounds. The Dragons were led by senior Kiley May with a game-high 19 points.
Tiffin got off to a fast start opening the game with a 13-2 run to build an early advantage. However, a three-pointer by freshman Bayley Goodman (Fowler, Ind./Benton Central) got the PNW offense going and sparked seven straight points for the Pride to close the gap to four, 13-9, with 3:11 left in the first quarter.
Trailing 19-13 at the start of the second quarter, three-pointers by sophomore Shae Rhonehouse (Fremont, Ind./Fremont) and junior Michaela Kikendall (Morristown, Ind./Morristown) helped Purdue Northwest draw within two, 23-21. A lay-up by Michalski with 3:05 remaining in the half gave PNW its first lead of the game, 29-28.
Both teams headed to the locker room for halftime with the game knotted, but the Dragons started the third quarter with a 10-1 surge to go up, 43-34, with five minutes left in the frame. A lay-up by Allen made it a five-point game, 43-38, late in the quarter, but late three-pointers by Tiffin kept PNW from drawing any closer and TU held a 48-42 edge heading into the final period. Another lay-up by Allen early in the fourth quarter brought the Pride within five, 51-46, but Tiffin answered with five straight points and PNW never got closer than six points over the final seven minutes of regulation.
Purdue Northwest (4-18 overall/3-14 GLIAC) hosts No. 1 Ashland University (Ohio) on Saturday, February 17, in a GLIAC battle at the Fitness and Recreation Center in Hammond, Ind. Prior to the game, The Pride will honor their two seniors for “Senior Day.” The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT start on John Friend Court.