The NKU women's basketball team plays at Missouri S&T on Thursday.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team begins a rugged two-game road trip Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. with a Great Lakes Valley Conference battle against Missouri S&T in Rolla, Mo.
NKU concludes the western trip Saturday by meeting Drury at 2 p.m. in Springfield, Mo. The Norse are 14-6 overall, 8-4 in the GLVC. NKU is tied with Southern Indiana for first place in the GLVC East Division.
Missouri S&T is 15-5 overall, 9-3 in the GLVC. Drury owns a 14-6 overall record, and the Panthers are in first place in the GLVC West Division with a 10-2 mark.
THE SERIES: NKU is 9-1 all-time against Missouri S&T. NKU has not visited Rolla, Mo., since Jan. 26, 2008, when Missouri S&T rolled to a 66-42 win against the Norse.
NKU owns a 5-4 lead in the all-time series against Drury. The Norse have defeated Drury the last two times they have visited Springfield, Mo.
MOGAN NEARS 1,000: NKU's
Casse Mogan enters Thursday night with 927 points, and she is now 30th on the all-time Norse scoring list. The junior guard from Circleville, Ohio, averages 17.2 points per game.
BEWARE OF THE ROAD: NKU is 2-5 on the road this season and has lost its last three games away from home. The Norse are 1-4 on the road against GLVC teams. NKU is 11-0 at home this season.
INSIDE FORCE: NKU sophomore center
Ellen Holton scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds last Saturday during the Norse's 75-45 win against Illinois-Springfield. Holton keyed NKU's first-half performance with 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field.
FIRST-HALF SPURT: Illinois-Springfield owned an early 12-10 lead early in the game, but NKU closed the half with a 30-5 run to take a commanding 40-17 advantage at intermission.
BOWLING'S BOARDS: NKU junior forward
Sadie Bowling grabbed nine rebounds against Illinois-Springfield. Bowling leads NKU with an average of 7.3 rebounds per game.
HAMLET ON TARGET: NKU sophomore guard
Jaimie Hamlet scored 11 points and dished out four assists during the win against Illinois-Springfield. Hamlet has made a team-leading 26 3-pointers this season and averages 7.4 points per game.
LOWDOWN ON NKU: The Norse are 13-1 when leading at halftime this season, and 1-5 when trailing at intermission. NKU's only loss when leading at halftime came against Charleston (W.Va.) on Nov. 19, when the Norse owned a 27-23 advantage at intermission.
NO. 1 IN THE GLVC: NKU leads the GLVC in scoring defense at 52.8 ppg. The Norse are also No. 1 in field-goal percentage defense, holding the opposition to just 35.4 percent from the field.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI S&T: On Feb. 6, 2010, NKU posted a 61-58 victory against Missouri S&T in The Bank of Kentucky Center. With NKU clinging to a 59-58 lead in the last minute,
Whitney Levering stole an errant Missouri S&T pass with 14 seconds remaining. Levering was fouled with 12 seconds left and made one of two free throws to extend the Norse lead to 60-58.
On Missouri S&T's ensuing possession, Jazmine Bell drove down the left side of the lane for a contested layup. Bell's shot was off the mark and rebounded by
Rachel Lantry with 2.2 seconds remaining. Lantry then made one of two free throws, and Missouri S&T could only get off a desperation heave from 75 feet at the buzzer.
