Sat., Nov. 6
Cincinnati, Ohio - Fifth Third Arena (13,176)
NKU (20-10 last season) at Cincinnati (12-18 last season), 7 p.m.
Internet Broadcast: www.nkunorse.com
Series Record: NKU leads, 8-7 (regular season)
Last Regular-Season Meeting: NKU 64, UC 63 (11-29-86)
NOTE: NKU defeated UC two years ago in an exhibition game at Fifth Third Arena, 56-52. The previous year, UC defeated NKU in an exhibition game, 69-67.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. –The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team travels across the Ohio River on Saturday night to meet the University of Cincinnati in an exhibition game. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena.
NKU posted a 20-10 record last season and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 11th time in the past 12 years. The Norse met top-seeded Michigan Tech in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional at Houghton, Mich., and dropped a 69-49 decision.
NKU finished in a tie for second place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division last season and lost in the quarterfinals of the GLVC Tournament to Wisconsin-Parkside.
MIGHTY MO: NKU features junior guard
Casse Mogan, who averaged a team-leading 16.7 points per game last season. Mogan earned All-GLVC first-team accolades and All-Midwest Region honors last season. Mogan also made 82.3 percent of her free throws and averaged a GLVC-leading 34.2 minutes per game.
Mogan scored in double figures 29 times last season, including 28 straight games. Mogan enters this season with 584 career points, which is 58th in school history. She currently ranks 10th in Norse history in free-throw percentage at .790.
BOWLING THEM OVER: Also returning to the starting lineup for NKU this season is junior forward
Sadie Bowling, who averaged 8.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Bowling averaged 33 minutes per game last season and contributed 50 assists and 31 steals.
IMPACT TRANSFERS: NKU features a pair of 6-foot-1 transfers in
Ellen Holton and
Shanece Miller. Holton helped Tusculum win the regional championship and advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight last season by averaging 2.2 points per game.
Miller played at Division I Southeast Missouri State last season and appeared in 18 games. She scored a total of 14 points for Southeast Missouri State and averaged 5.4 minutes per game for the Redhawks.
SUPER SOPHS: NKU sophomores
Kelsey Simpson and
Jaimie Hamlet are expected to make major contributions this season. Simpson, a 6-2 post player, averaged 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game last season. She also blocked 18 shots and scored eight points against eventual regional champion Michigan Tech in the NCAA Tournament.
Hamlet, a 5-8 point guard, averaged 1.2 points in 25 games last season.
LAST OF THE CHAMPIONS: Senior center
Kendra Caldwell is the last remaining player on the NKU roster from the 2008 NCAA Division II national championship team. Caldwell averaged 2.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last season.
BLUE-CHIP RECRUIT: NKU freshman guard
Kayla Thacker earned a spot on the Kentucky All-Star Team this past summer and played in the annual Kentucky/Indiana all-star games. Thacker averaged 13.8 points per game as a senior at Bullitt East High School.
Thacker scored 1,655 career points at Bullitt East and was named the 6th Region Player of the Year as a senior. She knocked down 129 3-pointers during her career and also grabbed 459 rebounds for the Chargers.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Norse freshman point guard Courtney Sandfoss, a graduate of Newport Central Catholic High School, is the second person in her family to play basketball for NKU. Her father, Tony Sandfoss, was also a point guard for the NKU men's basketball team from 1979-83.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST UC: On Nov. 1, 2008, NKU posted a 56-52 win against Cincinnati in Fifth Third Arena in an exhibition game. The Norse totally dominated play in the first half and held off a late UC rally to collect the victory.
NKU, playing without star inside performer Cassie Brannen, won the rebounding battle against the bigger Bearcats by a 38-31 margin. The Norse also made seven shots from 3-point range during the first half to build a 35-22 lead at the break.
Jessie Slack scored a game-high 17 points to lead NKU. She also grabbed seven rebounds and added three steals. Slack and Danyelle Echoles each netted 10 points in the first half as the Norse coasted into the locker room with a 13-point lead.
NKU made just 29.2 percent of its shots in the second half, including 0-for-8 from 3-point range. The Norse, however, kept UC off the boards and still owned a 52-42 lead with 3:46 remaining when Karen Brackman made a short jumper.
Shanasa Sanders and Angel Morgan each hit 3-pointers to bring UC within 52-48 with 2:50 left, but Brackman extended NKU's lead to 54-48 by knocking down a pair of free throws with 1:04 remaining.
Rachel Lantry grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for NKU.
Brandi Rayburn poured in 14 points in her Norse debut, and Echoles finished with 11 points.
THREE YEARS AGO AT UC: On Nov. 1, 2007, Cincinnati built a 21-point lead and held off a furious NKU rally to post a 69-67 victory in Fifth Third Arena. Cincinnati limited NKU to 8-for-23 shooting from the field during the first half with a zone defense and built a 36-24 lead at the break. The Bearcats extended their advantage to 47-26 on a layup by Caitlin Pauley with 13:21 remaining in the game and still owned a 21-point cushion after Tenishia Benson's basket with 12:40 left.
Jessie Slack keyed NKU's comeback by making six 3-pointers and finishing with 24 points. Cincinnati still held a 12-point lead with 2:27 remaining, but the Norse stormed back with a 9-0 run, capped by seven straight points from Slack. She made two free throws with 33 seconds left to make it 67-64.
Jill Stevens made one of two free throws with 18 seconds left to extend UC's lead to 68-64. After Nicole Chiodi missed a 3-point attempt, Slack chased down the offensive rebound and launched a long 3-pointer that found the bottom of the net to make it 68-67 with a second remaining.
NKU fouled Carla Jacobs with 0.9 seconds on the clock, and Jacobs missed the first free throw. She then hit the second attempt to make it 69-67, but NKU had one final chance. A length-of-the-court pass, however, was batted away as the buzzer sounded, and UC escaped with the victory.
