NKU plays host to Lewis at 3 p.m. Saturday.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team plays host to Lewis at 3 p.m. Saturday in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.
NKU is 12-4 overall, 5-3 in the GLVC. Lewis is 4-12 overall, 2-6 in the GLVC.
THE SERIES: NKU owns a 45-6 lead in the all-time series against Lewis and has won the last eight meetings. Lewis, in fact, has not beaten NKU since Jan. 6, 2007.
AT HOME: The Norse are 24-1 all-time against the Flyers at home. The lone Lewis road victory against NKU took place on Dec. 19, 1996, when the Flyers posted a 54-49 win against the Norse in Regents Hall. Since that Lewis victory in 1996, NKU has defeated the Flyers 13 consecutive times at home.
Lewis is 5-20 all-time In Romeoville, Ill., against NKU. The Norse are 1-0 on neutral courts against the Flyers.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: NKU senior guard
Casse Mogan moved into 10th place on the NKU all-time scoring list Thursday night with 1,346 career points. Mogan passed Christie Freppon, who finished with 1,339 career points.
Mogan averages 16.4 points per game entering Saturday, including a school-record 37 points against Saint Joseph's on Dec. 1.
FURIOUS RALLY FALLS SHORT: Down by 19 points midway through the second half Thursday night, NKU turned to full-court pressure to get back in the game against Wisconsin-Parkside.
The Norse staged a furious rally to cut the Wisconsin-Parkside lead to three points with less than two minutes remaining, but the Rangers held on for a 66-60 victory in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
Jadee Rooney scored 20 points to lead Wisconsin-Parkside, which is ranked No. 21 in the NCAA Division II poll. Amy Selk added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Rangers, who held NKU to 35.6 percent shooting from the field and handed the Norse their first loss at home this season.
Wisconsin-Parkside built a 34-23 halftime lead as reserve guard Jenna Endisch drilled a trio of 3-pointers. The Rangers held NKU scoring leader
Casse Mogan to just four points in the first half and shot 48.3 percent from the field.
After Brittany Beyer's basket with 9:21 remaining extended the Wisconsin-Parkside lead to 53-34, NKU turned to a full-court press. The pressure bothered the Rangers, and NKU rallied as Mogan (15 of her 19 points in the second half) and
Maria Bennett (12 points, including a trio of 3-pointers in the second half) helped the Norse chop the deficit to 63-60 with 1:18 left on the clock.
Beyer, however, made two free throws with 52 seconds remaining to give the Rangers a 65-60 lead. Rooney added a free throw with 14 seconds left to cap the scoring. Wisconsin-Parkside is now just 2-15 all-time on the road against NKU. The Rangers' only other victory in Highland Heights, Ky., came on Jan. 22, 2004, a 57-45 win in Regents Hall.
NKU still leads the all-time series with Wisconsin-Parkside by a 25-9 margin.
Kayla Thacker added six points, eight rebounds and three steals for NKU, while teammate
Sadie Bowling grabbed 12 rebounds.
Ellen Holton finished with nine points, and
Kelsey Simpson scored eight points.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST LEWIS: On Jan. 4, 2011,
Sadie Bowling collected a double-double as NKU posted a 55-45 victory over Lewis in the Neil Carey Arena.
Bowling finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. She made all four of her attempts from 3-point range.
Lewis led by as many as seven points in the first half, but NKU used a 21-9 run to take a 26-21 advantage at the break. Bowling buried two consecutive 3-pointers late in the half to give the Norse their five-point halftime edge.
The Norse held Lewis to 32.8 percent shooting from the field and allowed the Flyers to make just 11.1 percent (2-for-18) of their 3-point attempts.
