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Fri., Nov. 29
Moon Township, Pa. – Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056)
NKU (2-3) at Robert Morris (3-1)
Series Record: NKU leads 1-0
Last Meeting: NKU 73, RMU 69 (Jan. 3, 1985)
Sat., Nov. 30
Moon Township, Pa. – Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056)
NKU (2-3) at Tennessee Martin (4-2)
Series Record: UT Martin leads 1-0
Last Meeting: UT Martin 74, NKU 66 (Dec. 19, 1981)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team hits the road to participate in the Robert Morris Thanksgiving Classic in Moon Township, Pa., at the Charles L Sewall Center this weekend.
NKU faces the host Colonials to kick off the round-robin tournament, and the Norse wrap up the two-day event against Tennessee Martin on Saturday. The tipoff for both days is set for 1:30 p.m. Live audio will be available for Friday's action, and live stats and Andrew Kappes' webcast will be available for both games at nkunorse.com.
The Norse enter the weekend 2-3 on the season after dropping a 74-64 decision to Western Kentucky at The Bank of Kentucky Center on Saturday evening. Chastity Gooch and Alexis Govan combined for 36 points and 23 rebounds to lead the Lady Toppers, while Micah Jones and Bianca McGee each scored 10 points.
Melody Doss led NKU with 19 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots, despite getting into early foul trouble.
Lauren White finished with a career-high 18 points and went 14-for-18 from the free throw line.
Kayla Thacker added 11 points and seven rebounds, while
Sarah Kinch finished with a career-high nine points, four rebounds and three steals for the Norse.
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS: The Colonials are 3-1 this season after defeating UMBC, 51-39, at home on Saturday. Robert Morris has played all four of its games at home this season with its only loss coming against Hofstra to open the year on Nov. 8, and the Colonials rank 14th nationally by holding opponents to 53 points per game.
Robert Morris features the nation's top rebounder in Artemis Spanou, who averages 16 rebounds and 19.3 points per game. She has collected a double-double in each contest this season, which is tied for third nationally, and Spanou leads the team with 15 assists and six blocked shots. Anna Niki Stamolamprou averages 11.5 points per game and is shooting 47.8 (11-for-23) from behind the 3-point arc.
LAST TIME AGAINST ROBERT MORRIS: Nancy Dickman scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead NKU to a 73-69 victory over Robert Morris on Jan. 3, 1985 at the Central Florida Classic in Orlando, Fla., in the only meeting between the two programs. The Norse shot 44.3 percent from the field to improve to 8-1 on the season, while the Colonials shot a blistering 52.5 percent from the floor on the day.
ABOUT UT MARTIN: The Skyhawks are 4-2 on the year after cruising to a 93-77 victory over Evansville on Monday evening. Heather Butler led UT Martin with 34 points and nine rebounds, while Jasmine Newsom added 14 points, nine assists and five steals on the night.
Entering Monday's game, Butler and Newsome both ranked in the top 20 nationally in points per game, which is updated on a weekly basis. Butler's 23.6 scoring average over the Skyhawks' first five games put her 14th in the nation, while Newsome's 22.8 tied for 19th. Tiara Caldwell leads UT Martin with 7.2 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME AGAINST UT MARTIN: UT Martin defeated NKU, 74-66 in the Northern Kentucky Invitational, held at Regents Hall. Barb Harkins led the Norse with 21, while Janet Brungs grabbed nine rebounds as NKU fell to 6-2 on the season.
RANKING NATIONALLY: As a reclassifying institution, NKU is not included in the national statistics rankings. However, if the Norse were able to be ranked,
Melody Doss would be included in several lists.
Doss averages 22.2 points per game which would be tied for 30th nationally with Wright State's Kim Demmings. Her three blocks per game ties for 10th, and she would be 17th in field goal percentage at 63.2 percent. Doss has connected on 93.8 percent (15-for-16) of her attempts from the free throw line and would be tied 33rd, as would her 50 percent shooting from behind the 3-point arc.
SINGLE-GAME FREE THROWS: Lauren White finished 14-for-18 from the free throw line en route to a career-high 18 points against Western Kentucky on Saturday night at The Bank of Kentucky Center. White's 14 made free throw attempts finished just one shy of the single-game school record of 15 first set by Linda Niehaus against Kentucky on Jan. 14, 1975.
Niehaus went 15-for-25 from the charity stripe that night also setting the single-game record for free throws attempted in a game for the Norse. Lori McClellan equaled the 15 against Kentucky Wesleyan on Feb. 25, 1993, while Michelle Cottrell accomplished the feat on Feb. 16, 2002, also against Kentucky Wesleyan.
PRESSURING THE OPPONENT: NKU currently leads the Atlantic Sun Conference in turnover margin with a +7.80 margin. The Norse have forced their opponents into turning the ball over 102 (20.4 per game) times while just committing 63 (12.6 per game) turnovers. Saturday night, NKU committed only nine turnovers on the night against Western Kentucky and forced 18 by the Lady Toppers to stay in the game.
