The NKU women's basketball team plays host to Drury this Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – A key Great Lakes Valley Conference women's basketball game takes place Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when Northern Kentucky University plays host to Drury.
Drury enters Thursday with an 18-4 overall record, and the Lady Panthers are atop the GLVC West Division with a 10-1 record. Drury also brings a five-game winning streak into Thursday's contest.
NKU is 15-6 overall, and the Norse are 9-3 in the GLVC. NKU has won six consecutive games.
The NKU/Drury series is tied at 4-all, but the Norse are winless (0-2) at home against Drury. The Lady Panthers defeated NKU in Regents Hall during both the 2005-06 and 2007-08 seasons.
NKU'S 1-2 PUNCH:
Casse Mogan and
Brandi Rayburn combined for 45 points and 19 rebounds Saturday as NKU extended its winning streak to six with a 71-59 victory at Saint Joseph's.
Mogan finished with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Rayburn added 22 points and 12 rebounds. Mogan is No. 2 in the GLVC in scoring at 17.6 points per game. She also averages 6.2 rebounds per contest and has made a GLVC-leading 110 free throws this season. Mogan, a sophomore guard from Circleville, Ohio, has scored in double figures in all 21 games this season.
Rayburn averages 14.6 ppg and leads the GLVC in free-throw shooting at .936. Rayburn made all nine of her free-throw attempts Saturday and is 44-for-47 at the charity stripe this season.
600 CLUB: Rayburn has also scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games and enters Thursday with exactly 600 career points at NKU. Rayburn, a senior forward, is in her second season with the Norse after transferring from Morehead State. She scored 411 points in two years with Morehead State and has 1,011 points as a collegiate player.
GREAT DEFENSE VS. GREAT OFFENSE: When NKU and Drury meet Thursday, it will be a collision of the GLVC's top field-goal percentage defense going against the GLVC's top field-goal shooting offense. NKU leads the GLVC in field-goal percentage defense, limiting the opposition to .354. Drury, however, is No. 1 in the GLVC in field-goal percentage at .509.
DRURY'S LONG-RANGE BOMBERS: Drury features the top two 3-point shooters in the GLVC in sophomore guard Katie Pritchard and senior forward Lindsay Ballweg. Pritchard is 56-for-101 (.554) from 3-point range, while Ballweg is 71-for-139 (.511). Those two players alone have combined to make 127 3-pointers this season – 35 more than the entire NKU team (92).
THE LAST TIME AGAINST DRURY: On Jan. 17, 2009,
Cassie Brannen scored four points in overtime as NKU pulled out a 65-63 victory against Drury in Weiser Gym at Springfield, Mo.
NKU led by as many as 15 points in the second half, but Drury used a 12-0 run to pull to within 51-48 with 8:23 remaining. Drury gained a 59-55 lead with 2:41 left, but NKU scored the final four points of regulation to force overtime.
Danyelle Echoles made two free throws for NKU to start the extra session, and Brannen followed with a basket to give the Norse a 63-59 lead. NKU still held a 65-63 lead in the closing seconds, and Drury's Lindsay Ballweg missed a 3-point attempt.
Jessie Slack led NKU with 20 points, and
Brandi Rayburn added 14 points and 14 rebounds. Echoles scored 10 points for the Norse, while
Karen Brackman added nine points. Melanie Oliver led Drury with 18 points. NKU held Drury to 30.6 percent shooting from the field for the game.
