Game program (PDF)
Sat., Jan. 5
Highland Heights, Ky.
The Bank of Kentucky Center (9,400)
USC Upstate (5-7, 1-0 A-Sun) at Northern Kentucky (3-8, 0-2), 4:30 p.m.
Series Record: First meeting
NORSE NOTES (FIVE STARTERS & ONE)
1• NKU is 3-8 overall, 0-2 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, following a 59-55 loss at North Florida on Wednesday.
2• North Florida's Ki Conner scored five points in the final 25 seconds, including a go-ahead 3-pointer, to rally the Ospreys past NKU.
3• NKU is 0-8 this season when trailing at halftime.
4•
Ellen Holton scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half to lead NKU.
5• NKU is now 9-9 all-time in games played in the state of Florida.
+1• The NKU women are 54-8 all-time in The Bank of Kentucky Center, including 2-1 this season.
TOUGH JOURNEY: NKU's first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference road trip resulted in a pair of narrow losses at Jacksonville (65-60) and North Florida (59-55). The Norse were in position to win both games, but clutch shots by Jacksonville and North Florida in the final minutes of each game denied NKU a victory.
On Monday night, after NKU rallied from a 10-point deficit to slice the Jacksonville lead to 56-53, Tracie Sneed buried a 3-pointer while being fouled with 1:35 remaining in the game to extend the Dolphins' advantage to 59-53. She missed the free throw, but Jade Cargill grabbed the offensive rebound and Jacksonville held on for the win.
On Wednesday night, Ki Conner scored 17 points – including a clutch trey to give her team a 57-55 lead with 25 seconds left – as North Florida edged NKU.
BALANCED SCORING: Three NKU players scored in double figures Wednesday.
Ellen Holton led the way with 13 points, while
Tiara Hopper and
Christine Roush both finished with 11 points.
Kayla Thacker scored nine points for the Norse.
Hopper scored all 11 of her points in the first half. The senior forward injured her ankle early in the second half and did not return to the game. She is NKU's top scorer at 11.7 points per game, which is 10th in the A-Sun.
SLOW CONFERENCE STARTS: NKU started 0-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2009-10 and bounced back to finish 13-5 in league play, going 13-3 the rest of the way. In 2004-05, the Norse began 0-3 in GLVC play, but a strong finish allowed them to post a 13-7 mark in the conference.
LOGGING THE MINUTES: NKU's
Kayla Thacker leads the A-Sun in minutes played with an average of 37.3 mpg. She played 36 minutes Wednesday at North Florida. Thacker is No. 5 in the A-Sun in steals per game at 2.2, and she is 11th in scoring at 11.6 points per game.
GOOD COMPANY: NKU's
Christine Roush enters Saturday averaging 9.5 points per game. She is trying to become the first NKU freshman to average double figures since Michelle Cottrell (18.1 ppg) during the 1998-99 season. The previous season, freshman guard Michele Tuchfarber averaged 11.5 points per game.
ABOUT THE SPARTANS: USC Upstate is 5-7 overall and 1-0 in the A-Sun after posting a 90-79 win over East Tennessee State on Wednesday. The Spartans' Hannah Ohl paced all scorers with a career-best 19 points. She connected on 5-of-9 from 3-point range in that victory.
Upstate's Tee'Ara Copney added 17 points for her fifth straight double-figure scoring performance. Copney also grabbed five rebounds for the Spartans, while dishing out a game-high and season-best eight assists. Tyra Smith finished with 14 points for the Spartans.
