DELAND, Florida – Molly Franson scored a career-high 14 points, including a pair of game-winning free throws, and pulled down nine rebounds to lift the Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team to a 53-52 victory over Stetson, sending the Norse to their first Atlantic Sun Conference championship game.

"I thought it was a great basketball game, and I think we were really fortunate because Stetson is a great team," NKU head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.  "I thought our defense was much better than when we played here in the regular season.   Molly Franson played a great game for us and pulled down some key rebounds on both ends of the court.  All of kids really battled, fought and competed in this game.  I'm just really proud of the effort tonight."
 
NKU will face top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the title game on Sunday in its first season eligible for conference postseason action.  Tipoff from Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida, will be at 2:30 p.m. 
 
Franson finished 5-for-8 from the floor and knocked down each of her four free throw attempts, and she blocked one shot for NKU, which improved to 19-12 overall.  Melody Doss finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Christine Roush added eight points and eight boards for the Norse, who shot 30.8 percent (20-for-65) from the floor.
 
NKU jumped out to an early 8-2 lead at the 15:56 mark as its defense limited Stetson to just one field goal in its first nine attempts.  The Hatters chipped away at the Norse lead with six-straight points to tie the game at 8-all with just over 13 minutes on the clock.
 
The two teams traded baskets over the next two-and-a-half minutes until an 8-2 spurt from Stetson gave the Hatters an 18-14 advantage with 7:19 left in the first half.  Back-to-back layups by Kasey Uetrecht tied the game for the fourth time of the night.
 
Sarah Sagerer hit a 3-pointer on the next Stetson possession, but Doss answered on the other end of the court with her third trey of the game to tie things at 21-all with 4:45 remaining in the half.  A Jama Sharp layup ended a two-minute scoring drought for both teams at the 2:19 mark, and Kaitlyn Gerrety converted a layup to even the score with just over one minute left.
 
Amber Porter pushed the Hatters ahead, 25-23, on their next trip down the court, and the Norse called a timeout.  Kelley Wiegman knocked down a pull-up jumper with 27 seconds on the clock, and Porter was called for an offensive foul to give NKU the ball back with just five seconds remaining.  The Norse worked the ball up the court and found an open Mikayla Terry, but her shot at the buzzer just missed the mark as the two teams went into the locker room tied at 25.
 
Stetson shot 33.3 (12-for-36) in the first half but went just 1-for-14 (.188) from behind the 3-point arc.  NKU finished 10-for-34 (.294) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and connected on three of its 16 attempts from long range.
 
The Norse built a 39-34 advantage in the second half with 13:12 left to play before a 6-0 Hatters run, capped by a 3-pointer from Aisha Turner, put Stetson ahead, 40-39, at the 11:25 mark.  A long-range shot from Christine Roush put NKU back on top, 42-40, at the other end of the court, but two quick baskets from Turner gave Stetson a 44-42 lead with 10:18 remaining.
 
A 3-pointer by Doss regained the Norse lead at 45-44 with just under eight minutes to play, and Sharp tied the game at 45-all with a free throw at the 6:04 mark.  Four points from Franson sandwiched a Sharp layup to give NKU a 49-47 edge with 4:22 on the clock.
 
Turner knocked down a pair of free throws before Franson knocked down a jumper from just inside the paint for a two-point (51-49) Norse advantage.  A conventional 3-point play by Myeisha Hall put the Hatters back on top, 52-51, setting the stage for Franson's game-winning free throws with 15 seconds left.
 
Stetson called a timeout to set up one last play, but Sharp's layup missed the mark and C.J. Coddington was swarmed by the Norse defense on the rebound, unable to get one last shot off.

"I thought the key to this game was both teams defended really, really well," Plitzuweit said.  "Even when we got shots at the end of a shot clock, it took a long time to get to that point and most of the time you only got one shot.  I thought Stetson played very hard and well, and it was really tough for us to handle their pressure.  But, we were fortunate enough to get some offensive boards late in the game, and that was really key for us."
 
Both teams pulled down 44 rebounds, including 13 offensive boards each, as NKU finished with a 12-11 advantage in second-chance points. 

"Crashing the glass and getting second chances is clutch," Franson said.  "It's a whole extra minute that you get on the offensive end, taking our time and getting the shots that we want.  I think rebounding was a key; it always is in every game."
 
Three Hatters finished with 11 points, including Hall, who pulled down nine rebounds.  Sharp and Turner also added 11 point as Sharp dished out four assists for Stetson.  Porter scored nine points, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked four shots for Stetson, which fell to 23-7 on the year.
 
Links to live stats and the video broadcast for Sunday's Atlantic Sun championship game will be available at NKUNorse.com.  Fans can track the game's progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter as well.