Saturday, January 24
Highland Heights, Ky.
1 PM
Purdue Fort Wayne
13-8,7-4Horizon
97
at
91
Northern Kentucky
10-13,7-5Horizon
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
Purdue Fort Wayne
21
20
21
19
16
97
Northern Ky.
17
14
27
23
10
91
Rylee Bess
Photo by: Josh Gales
'Dons Win 97-91 at NKU in Instant Overtime Classic
1/24/2026 3:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Saturday's (Jan. 24) women's basketball game between Purdue Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky had everything anyone could want out of a Horizon League battle.
High-quality offense, superstar-level individual performances and overtime? Purdue Fort Wayne's 97-91 victory at Northern Kentucky featured all of it.
In the era of transfers and super-seniors, it was a duo of freshmen dueling with answer after answer. Purdue Fort Wayne's Rylee Bess finished with a career-high 27 points and NKU's Karina Bystry had a career-high 35 of her own.
Bess is the first Mastodon freshman to score 27 or more against a Division I foe since 2016.
The Mastodons led for over 40 minutes of the game and led by as many as 13, but NKU took a 79-76 lead after a 7-0 run in the last two minutes of regulation. It looked as though the Mastodons were doomed to repeat the game against the Norse in Fort Wayne. That game featured a 17-point comeback from the Norse to force overtime, which NKU eventually won.
The last two minutes of regulation took nearly 20 minutes of real time with appeals, reviews and timeouts, but the Mastodons got two free throws from Bess and a traditional 3-point play from Lili Krasovec to tie the game at 81 with 24 seconds left. NKU had a shot to win it, but missed. The Norse got the rebound, but turned it over. The 'Dons turned it back over to give NKU another look, but overtime was ahead.
In overtime, Bystry, the Norse star, hit a layup to put the 'Dons behind. Bess answered with a massive 3-pointer, then Alana Nelson did the same on the following possession. The next time down, Krasovec made two free throws to go up 89-83. From there, the Norse never got any closer than five.
In the overtime period, all five starters played all five minutes all scored.
The Mastodons finished with 46 rebounds, the fourth-most in a game against a Division I foe in program history. Nelson led the way with eight, while Krasovec and Jordan Reid had seven each.
While Bess led with 27, Reid finished with 19 on 8-of-18 shooting after a 1-for-6 start. Nelson had 16 on 7-of-14. Lauren Lee added a season-high-tying 11 points and four assists. Krasvoec had 10 points with six coming at the free throw line. All 10 of her points came in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Saturday's game was the highest-scoring performance by the Mastodons in a road league game since 2014, which was a double-overtime win at North Dakota State. It was also the first overtime win since 2023, a 70-64 win at Southern Illinois. The Mastodons' 97 points were the fourth-most scored in a road game in the Division I era.
With the win, Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 13-8 and 7-4 in Horizon League play to move back into second place in the standings. NKU fell to 10-13, 7-5.
The Mastodons will return home for a game against Robert Morris on Tuesday (Jan. 27) at 7 p.m. in the Gates Sports Center.
High-quality offense, superstar-level individual performances and overtime? Purdue Fort Wayne's 97-91 victory at Northern Kentucky featured all of it.
In the era of transfers and super-seniors, it was a duo of freshmen dueling with answer after answer. Purdue Fort Wayne's Rylee Bess finished with a career-high 27 points and NKU's Karina Bystry had a career-high 35 of her own.
Bess is the first Mastodon freshman to score 27 or more against a Division I foe since 2016.
The Mastodons led for over 40 minutes of the game and led by as many as 13, but NKU took a 79-76 lead after a 7-0 run in the last two minutes of regulation. It looked as though the Mastodons were doomed to repeat the game against the Norse in Fort Wayne. That game featured a 17-point comeback from the Norse to force overtime, which NKU eventually won.
The last two minutes of regulation took nearly 20 minutes of real time with appeals, reviews and timeouts, but the Mastodons got two free throws from Bess and a traditional 3-point play from Lili Krasovec to tie the game at 81 with 24 seconds left. NKU had a shot to win it, but missed. The Norse got the rebound, but turned it over. The 'Dons turned it back over to give NKU another look, but overtime was ahead.
In overtime, Bystry, the Norse star, hit a layup to put the 'Dons behind. Bess answered with a massive 3-pointer, then Alana Nelson did the same on the following possession. The next time down, Krasovec made two free throws to go up 89-83. From there, the Norse never got any closer than five.
In the overtime period, all five starters played all five minutes all scored.
The Mastodons finished with 46 rebounds, the fourth-most in a game against a Division I foe in program history. Nelson led the way with eight, while Krasovec and Jordan Reid had seven each.
While Bess led with 27, Reid finished with 19 on 8-of-18 shooting after a 1-for-6 start. Nelson had 16 on 7-of-14. Lauren Lee added a season-high-tying 11 points and four assists. Krasvoec had 10 points with six coming at the free throw line. All 10 of her points came in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Saturday's game was the highest-scoring performance by the Mastodons in a road league game since 2014, which was a double-overtime win at North Dakota State. It was also the first overtime win since 2023, a 70-64 win at Southern Illinois. The Mastodons' 97 points were the fourth-most scored in a road game in the Division I era.
With the win, Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 13-8 and 7-4 in Horizon League play to move back into second place in the standings. NKU fell to 10-13, 7-5.
The Mastodons will return home for a game against Robert Morris on Tuesday (Jan. 27) at 7 p.m. in the Gates Sports Center.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Team Stats
Pur-FW
NKU
FG%
.471
.368
3FG%
.333
.308
FT%
.786
.852
RB
46
41
TO
13
10
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Pts
27
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
7
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
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