HIGHLAND HTS., KY. - Connie Myers scored a game-high 25 points as Northern Kentucky defeated Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 63-56 in women's college basketball on Thursday.
         Northern Kentucky, 14-7 overall and 9-6 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, used a 14-2 run in the middle of the second half to defeat SIUE, which fell to 10-13 and 5-11 in the GLVC.
         Both teams struggled from the field in the first half, but it was NKU which took the lead to the locker room at halftime 24-23. SIUE's Jessica Robert hit a pair of free throws with no time on the clock to pull the Cougars within a point.
         In the second half, SIUE vaulted to the lead early by taking a six-point lead on an Amber Wisdom layup with 17:50 to play. The Cougars held a six-point lead until 14:58 to play when NKU scored nine unanswered points.
         Tanya Guell led SIUE in scoring with 18 points while Robert added 15. Karmen Graham was NKU's other player in double figures scoring with 10.
         SIUE now heads to Louisville, Ky., to face Bellarmine in a 1 p.m. (EST) game on Saturday.
                  -siue cougars-