HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Northern Kentucky went on a 17-4 run in the first period, and the Youngstown State women’s basketball team never recovered in a 75-56 loss to the Norse on Thursday evening at BB&T Arena.

The Penguins played from behind for the final 35 minutes, but they stayed within striking distance and trailed just 49-44 with two minutes left in the third quarter. NKU scored the final two points of the third and the first four of the fourth, and the Norse went on to outscore the Penguins 24-12 in the final quarter to pull away. Eleven of those 24 points for NKU came from the free-throw line.

Chelsea Olson posted her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and she matched her career high with four blocks. McKenah Peters and Quinece Hatcher joined Olson in double figures with 10 points apiece, and Peters also had nine rebounds as she and Olson combined for 19 of YSU’s 40 boards.

Emmy Souder scored a career-high 19 points, and Kailey Coffey had 15 points and eight rebounds for NKU. That duo combined to go 14-for-23 from the field.

NKU outscored YSU 19-4 off turnovers and 18-4 on fast-break points, and Coffey contributed largely on the latter.

YSU led 5-2 after an Olson 3-pointer at the 7:06 mark, but that was the Penguins’ only field goal of the first seven minutes as they started 1-for-8 from the floor. The cold shooting lingered through most of the game as YSU shot 32.8 percent overall and shot 25 percent or below in every quarter but the third.

NKU scored 10 straight points and led 12-5 after a Taylor Clos 3-pointer at the 3:03 mark. Peters’ reverse layup with 2:46 remaining ended the scoring drought, but NKU finished the period scoring 17 of the final 21 points. The margin reached double digits for the first time when Coffey scored on a feed from Molly Glick with 42 seconds left, and Taylor Petit and Coffey traded baskets in the final 20 seconds as NKU led 19-9 at the end of the period.

Olson hit a 3 on the first possession of the second period to start a 7-0 run for the Penguins. A Peters basket made the score 19-16 with 8:31 left, but YSU was held to 10 points the rest of the period. NKU’s lead got back to double digits at 32-22 at the 3:06 mark, and it reached its peak in the first half at 36-24 on a three-point play by Souder with 1:09 remaining. Jen Wendler made two free throws with 44.2 seconds remaining for the final points of the half.

YSU was just 6-for-25 from the field in the first half but went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line to keep the Norse from pulling away.

The teams traded four-point runs to start the second half, and the Penguins trailed just 41-36 on a Gabby Lupardus bucket at the 5:51 mark. They got within five again at 49-44 when Peters and Hatcher scored six straight points, but that’s as close as they would get.

Olson’s 3-pointer with 6:06 remaining made the score 59-51, and Ny’Dajah Jackson’s bucket at the 3:47 mark was YSU’s final field goal of the night.

YSU remains on the road to play at Wright State on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO-AM and ESPN3.