SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Abby Nelson became the fifth player to score 1,000 points at Northern on Tuesday in a 45-21 win at Frankfort.
Nelson is the first player to surpass 1,000 points since 2011 and entered Tuesday’s game at 997.
Nelson’s 1000th point came with 5:05 remaining in the first half on a fast break layup off a steal.
Nelson led the No. 5 Huskies (12-8) with nine points and a steal.
“She’s a strong player, she’s the kind of player who puts in more time in the gym than anyone could ever imagine,” Northern head coach Dave Yoder said. “Hour after hour on weekends, after practice, shooting a couple hundred free throws and 3s is what she does routinely.”
The Falcons (3-16) led 10-8 after one quarter, but the Huskies opened the second with 16 unanswered points and went up 24-10 with two minutes before halftime.
Northern led 25-14 at the break and 36-18 heading to the fourth before outscoring Frankfort 9-3 in the fourth.
“Not real good, obviously we’re not a good team with three wins,” Frankfort head coach Steve Willison said. “We’ve been competing with teams, we’re always in pretty close games. This is a team we should’ve done better with, just kind of fell apart.”
Kaylee Bowser and Marisa Perez added eight points each while Allahna Lacy scored seven.
Lacy and Bowser each recorded a steal and a block and combined for five assists.
“Really good team defense, we’ve been focusing a lot on team defense and boxing out,” Yoder said. “We’ve been struggling with that for most of the season, but for the last five or six games we’ve put it together playing teams bigger than us, stronger than us.”
Before the game, the Falcons celebrated Senior Night recognizing Adison Pritts, Kendall Kelly and Carlee Kesner.
Pritts led all scorers with 10 points and a steal.
Kelly scored two points with three assists and two steals while Kesner scored four points.
“They all worked hard, they’re frustrated because they lost,” Willison said of the seniors. “But they’re hard-working girls.”
Both teams play Fort Hill (9-9) in their next games, starting on Thursday at 6 p.m. with the Falcons’ regular season finale in South Cumberland.
The Huskies host the Sentinels on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
“We have to play tough defense, cause turnovers and box out,” Yoder said of the Sentinels. “Their starting five is bigger than anybody we have. They’re a great team, they play really hard and they’re gonna come after us.”