Northern Kentucky University Athletics

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team plays host to William Jewell College at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game.

NKU has won four straight games and is 8-2 overall, 1-1 in the GLVC. William Jewell is 6-2 overall, 1-1 in the GLVC.

The Norse close out the week by playing host to Rockhurst at 1 p.m. Saturday. NKU is 6-0 all-time against Rockhurst.

HELLO, GOODBYE: This is the first meeting between NKU and William Jewell in women's basketball. With NKU leaving the GLVC after this season to join the NCAA Division I Atlantic Sun Conference, it is also the final time the two will meet in a conference game.

POINTS AT A PREMIUM: During its current four-game winning streak, NKU has held the opposition to less than 50 points in each contest. The Norse defense allows just 48.3 points per game (No. 1 nationally in the latest Division II statistics) and 32.2 percent shooting.

On offense, NKU averages 63.5 points per game and is 14th in the GLVC.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: NKU senior guard Casse Mogan enters Thursday with 1,244 career points. She needs nine points to pass Brenda Ryan (1,252) for 18th place in Norse history.

Mogan is also closing in on Jennifer Lyons (1,261, 17th place) and Angela Healy (1,262, 16th place) on the NKU points list. Earlier this season, Mogan scored a school-record 37 points during a triple-overtime win at Saint Joseph's.

Mogan averages 16.1 points per game, which is No. 3 in the GLVC. She is also No. 6 in the GLVC in steals per game at 2.30.

GLIAC SWEEP: NKU defeated two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes last week in its own invitational. The Norse posted a 61-32 win over Ohio Dominican, and followed that with a 51-41 victory against Hillsdale.

Ellen Holton and Melody Doss combined for 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots to lead NKU past Hillsdale. Holton totaled 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Doss added nine points, three rebounds and three rejections.

NKU shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first half, but the Norse committed 18 turnovers and held just a 24-23 lead at the break. Hillsdale also made just 25.8 percent of its attempts from the field during the opening 20 minutes.

The Chargers gained a 26-24 advantage early in the second half, but NKU used a 22-6 run to build a 46-32 edge on Jaimie Hamlet's 3-pointer with 6:32 remaining. Hillsdale then scored the next seven points to cut the Norse lead to 46-39 with 4:01 left, but NKU held the Chargers scoreless the next 3:32 to hold on for the win. 

Casse Mogan added 12 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists for NKU, which shot 46.2 percent for the game. The Norse committed just eight turnovers in the second half and finished with 26.

NKU dominated the glass and owned a 43-25 advantage on the boards with four players pulling down seven rebounds. The Norse also held Hillsdale to 25 percent shooting from the field, including just 6-for-28 from 3-point range.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST ROCKHURST: On Jan. 6, 2011, Casse Mogan scored 13 points and added four steals to lead NKU to a 58-46 win over Rockhurst in The Bank of Kentucky Center.

Mogan also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots for NKU, which shot just 39.1 percent from the field but finished with a 34-24 rebounding advantage.

NKU is 3-0 all-time at home against Rockhurst, and 3-0 on the road vs. the Hawks. The Norse have won all six meetings by an average margin of 24.5 points per game.