HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – After five ties and seven lead changes, an 11-4 run in the final two minutes of regulation helped the Jacksonville University women's basketball team to a 76-62 victory at Northern Kentucky.

Jacksonville improves to 10-14 (5-6 in the Atlantic Sun) with the win, its first in Highland Heights in program history.

Briona Brown finished the game 4-for-5 from downtown and led all scorers with 22 points. Brandi Buie posted a career-high 17 points, all recorded in the second half, while Sherranda Reddick added 13 points and Kayla Gordon 10. Jenny Vernet grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in 18 minutes of action.

"We knew what we were playing for," said Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "I was proud of the team's defensive effort. In the second half, we were really focused on and committed to keeping NKU at 30 points or less. I'm so proud of the freshmen that stepped up and gave great minutes. I'm proud of people like Jenny who haven't played a lot of minutes this season but came in and gave us 10 rebounds. There are no stars on this team; it was a team effort. Right now, we are just focusing on deciding our fate and taking it one game at a time."

Three consecutive triples earned the Norse an early 9-2 advantage before a 5-0 JU run closed the Dolphins' deficit to two. With 13:09 minutes remaining, the Dolphins continued to attack and on the brim of Brown's seven points, JU jumped out to a 17-14 lead. A minute under the midpoint of the frame, Brown knocked down a contested three from the left corner to be the first player in double-digits. The basket forced an NKU timeout as the Dolphins maintained a 25-17 advantage.

The Norse, however, kept pressuring on their home court and used turnovers and unanswered scores to make it a one-point game, 26-25 (6:03). NKU regained its lead on a three-pointer by Sha'Rae Davis at the 4:41 mark and held on to its edge, with the Dolphins just a possession or two out of reach, to close the half.

Brown nearly tied the game with a trip to the free throw line with .6 seconds on the clock but missed on the front end of a one-and-one opportunity as JU trailed, 34-32. She concluded the stanza with 16 points on a 6-for-11 act from the floor.

Gordon opened the second half with six straight points and it was Buie's first two points that tied the game at 40-all (14:46). On the next possession, an NKU turnover led to a layup and an ensuing made free throw by Buie who went on to score seven consecutive points for the Dolphins' 45-40 advantage at 13:27.

Northern Kentucky again climbed to within one and from the 12:36 mark until 5:38, the teams battled back and forth, trading one-point leads.

Brown put a cap on the flip-flopping advantages with her fourth make from downtown. With 5:17 remaining, JU owned a 58-54 lead which later improved to 63-56 on a trey from Reddick.

Trips to the charity stripe allowed the Dolphins to cruise to the win as they closed the game going 11-for-14 to capture the much needed Atlantic Sun win.

Jacksonville continues its road trip at Lipscomb on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m.