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NKU Game 5 Notes |
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Sat., Nov. 23
Highland Heights, Ky. – The Bank of Kentucky Center (9,400)
NKU (2-2) vs. Western Kentucky (3-1)
Series Record: WKU leads 10-8
Last Meeting: WKU 65, NKU 53 (Nov. 18, 2012)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball returns to The Bank of Kentucky Center on Saturday as the Norse welcome Western Kentucky for a 7 p.m. contest.
NKU is 2-2 on the season after dropping a 67-53 decision to Youngstown State on Wednesday. The Penguins finished 11-for-19 (.579) from behind the 3-point arc and had seven players hit 3-pointers, including three from Liz Hornberger and Heidi Schlegel. Youngstown State used a 27-6 run to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 30-11 lead with 9:32 remaining in the first half.
NKU opened the second half with an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to 42-31 behind four straight points from
Kaitlyn Gerrety, but Youngstown State responded with 9-2 spurt capped by a Schlegel 3-pointer to push the lead back to 18 (51-33) with 12:18 left to play. The Norse were unable to get any closer than 12 the rest of the way.
Western Kentucky owns a 3-1 record on the year after defeating Southeast Missouri, 90-75, on the road Tuesday night. Alexis Govan led Western Kentucky with 21 points, five rebounds, five steals, four assists and one blocked shot. Chastity Gooch, the defending Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week and All-America candidate, added 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots on the night.
Gooch is averaging a double-double for the Lady Toppers with 15.8 points and 10 rebounds per game, while Govan leads the offense with an average of 16.5 points. Gooch has blocked seven shots, while Govan has collected 11 assists and nine steals this season. Bianca McGee is averaging 13 points per game and Micah Jones being the fourth Western Kentucky player averaging in double figures at 12 points per contest.
LAST TIME AGAINST WESTERN KENTUCKY: Last season, Alexis Govan scored 22 points to lead Western Kentucky to a 65-53 victory over NKU in the 30th Annual BB&T Classic on Nov. 18, 2012, at the E.A. Diddle Arena.
NKU jumped out to an early 11-5 leave, but Western Kentucky responded with an 11-0 run midway through the first half to take a 17-11 advantage with 4:20 remaining in the half. The Norse entered the half down 26-16 despite only shooting 22.6 percent from the field in the first half, but the Norse converted 42.9 percent of their shots in the second half to climb back into the game.
The Lady Toppers extended their lead to 44-25 with 10:27 left in the game, but the Norse used a 13-2 run to cut the Western Kentucky lead to eight with just over seven minutes remaining.
Christine Roush fueled the run with nine points, including two 3-point field goals. The Norse, however, could not get any closer in the final minutes of the game, and Western Kentucky held on for the win.
Roush and
Kayla Thacker led the Norse with 11 points, while
Kaitlyn Gerrety added 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Tiara Hopper also scored 10 points on the night for NKU.
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORD: Western Kentucky holds a 10-8 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs, which began with a 53-46 NKU victory on Feb. 1, 1975, in Regents Hall. The Norse won eight of the first 11 meetings, including the first three matchups, while the Lady Toppers have won the last seven.
REPEAT HONORS: For the second consecutive week,
Melody Doss has been named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week after averaging 26.5 points, six rebounds, three steals and 2.5 blocked shots over two games last week. Doss led the Norse with 15 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's loss to Youngstown State.
In games against Illinois State and North Carolina Wilmington, she went 21-for-30 (.700) from the floor and 3-for-4 behind the 3-point arc. Doss, a 6-foot forward from Greenwood, Ind., also finished perfect from the free throw line (8-for-8).
On Wednesday, she scored career-high 29 points on 11-for-12 shooting from the floor in a 61-48 victory over Illinois State. With the Redbirds holing a 40-36 advantage with 10:08 remaining, Doss scored 12 of NKU's next 13 points to give the Norse the lead (49-43) for good.
For the season, Doss leads the Atlantic Sun in scoring, averaging 23 points, and field goal percentage (63.8 percent). She is shooting 92.9 percent from the free throw line, which ranks third in the conference.
CAREER PERFORMANCES: Wednesday night saw three freshmen NKU players put together career performances.
Lauren White scored a career-high 10 points, while
Sarah Kinch set two personal records with eight points and four rebounds. In addition,
Kelley Wiegman also topped her career bests with five points and six rebounds on the night.
SECOND-HALF SUCCESS: The Norse have outscored their opponents in the second half three out of their four games this season. On Tuesday, NKU scored two more points (30-28) than Youngstown State to take a 148-123 advantage over its opponents in the second stanza on the year. The Norse outscored Cincinnati (42-34) and Illinois State (39-24) before tying North Carolina Wilmington in the second half. NKU's opponents hold a 118-105 edge in points over the opening 20 minutes of play.
BLOCK PARTY: NKU currently ranks second in the Atlantic Sun Conference in blocks at 5 blocks per game. The Norse have turned away 20 total shots on the year led by
Melody Doss, who has rejected 12 shots (three blocks per game) Mercer leads the Atlantic Sun, averaging 5.8 per game with 23 total blocked shots, and the Bears' Teanna Robinson tops the league having blocked 17 shots for an average of 4.3 per contest.
SATURDAY PROMOTIONS: The women's basketball team will continue the canned good drive started by the NKU volleyball team. Fans are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to benefit the Brighton Center to receive a $3 ticket for Saturday's game. Fans can also redeem vouchers handed out at the Trick-or-Treat Trail during Coney Island's Fall-O-Ween Festival for free admission.
Students from the NKU Department of Theatre and Dance will present a number from their recent production of South Pacific at the half. In this song, sailors in the midst of World War II sing about the one thing from back home they miss the most. For more information about current and future productions, visit theatre.nku.edu or call the box office at 859-572-5464.
