Northern Kentucky University Athletics

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – A huge week of Great Lakes Valley Conference play looms for the Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team, beginning Thursday night with a showdown against Southern Indiana at 5:30 p.m. in The Bank of Kentucky Center.

NKU concludes the regular season Saturday when GLVC East Division leader Indianapolis (24-2 overall, 15-2 GLVC) visits The Bank of Kentucky Center at 5:30 p.m. The Greyhounds are ranked fourth nationally.

NKU enters Thursday with a 10-game winning streak and a 19-6 record. The Norse are 13-3 in the GLVC.

Southern Indiana is 19-7 overall, and the Screaming Eagles are 10-5 in the GLVC. Southern Indiana handed NKU an 85-76 loss earlier this season at Evansville, Ind.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: NKU is No. 7 in the latest NCAA Division II Midwest Region poll, which was released Wednesday. Michigan Tech is No. 1 in that poll, followed by Indianapolis, Wisconsin-Parkside, Drury and Northern Michigan to round out the top five.

CLOSE CALL: Whitney Levering stole a pass in the closing seconds and then made a pair of free throws as NKU held on for a 57-54 victory at Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday.

NKU owned a 55-54 lead with 12.7 seconds remaining in the game, but Kentucky Wesleyan brought the ball up the floor with a chance to win following a Norse turnover. Levering, however, stole an entry pass inside and was fouled with 3.2 seconds left on the clock. Levering then converted both free throws to extend NKU's lead to 57-54.

STREAK AT 25: Casse Mogan scored 15 points to lead NKU against Kentucky Wesleyan. Mogan, a sophomore guard from Circleville, Ohio, has now scored in double figures in 25 consecutive games. She leads NKU in scoring at 17.0 points per game. Mogan also averages 6.1 rebounds per contest and has collected a team-leading 41 steals.

TOUGH DEFENSE: NKU continues to lead the GLVC in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 35.9 percent shooting.

BEHIND THE ARC: NKU ranks 14th in the GLVC in 3-point shooting at .315. As a team, the Norse have made just 104 shots from 3-point range in 25 games. Southern Indiana, on the other hand, has connected on 162 3-pointers in 26 games.

MAGIC 20: NKU needs one victory to clinch its fifth straight 20-win season.

ASSIST TO LANTRY: NKU senior guard Rachel Lantry dished out a career-high seven assists in the win at Kentucky Wesleyan last Saturday.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST SOUTHERN INDIANA: Earlier this season on Dec. 5, Ellen Young poured in 30 points as Southern Indiana rolled to an 85-76 win against NKU at Evansville, Ind.

Southern Indiana blistered the nets for 51.9 percent shooting from the field to defeat the Norse. NKU made 54.2 percent of its shots from the field in the opening 20 minutes but trailed at halftime by a 39-37 score. Young took over for Southern Indiana in the second half by scoring 21 points.

Casse Mogan led NKU with 19 points, while teammate Jessie Carmack netted 15 points. The Norse made 49.1 percent of their shots from the field and were 8-for-16 from 3-point range. Carmack made five 3-pointers in six attempts.

NKU gained a 48-46 lead with 15:47 remaining on a basket by Brandi Rayburn, but Southern Indiana responded with an 8-1 run to take a 54-49 advantage on Young's 3-pointer with 14:07 left on the clock. Amie Newhart sealed the win by making six consecutive free throws in the final 46 seconds.

Newhart and Meneghetti each finished with 16 points for Southern Indiana. This will be the Southern Indiana's first game in The Bank of Kentucky Center.