Game 10 Notes |
Live stats |
Live video |
Live audio
Wed., Dec. 18
Indianapolis, Ind. – IUPUI Gymnasium – The Jungle (1,215)
NKU (4-5) vs. IUPUI (7-4)
Series Record: NKU leads 17-0
Last Meeting: NKU 47, IUPUI (Feb. 10, 1996)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team makes a return trip to Indianapolis, Ind., on Wednesday as the Norse face IUPUI at the IUPUI Gymnasium, also known as the Jungle, at 5 p.m.
NKU is 4-5 after falling to Butler, 53-47, on Sunday afternoon at the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Kelley Wiegman scored a career-high 14 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the Norse. She finished 4-for-7 from the floor, while
Kayla Thacker added 10 points and four rebounds.
Christine Roush finished with nine points, and
Melody Doss pulled down a team-high nine rebounds on the day.
IUPUI enters the contest 7-4 on the year after suffering a 51-45 home loss to undefeated Indiana on Sunday afternoon. Nevena Markovic led the Jaguars with 10 points, while Shanika Maddox grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Dee-Dee Bellamy, who was named the Summit League Player of the Week on Monday, blocked four shots for IUPUI.
DeAirra Gross and Markovic lead the Jaguars in scoring, averaging 10.7 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Maddox is pulling down a team-high 5.3 rebounds per contest, and Dawn Luster leads the team with 35 assists on the year with Mikale Rogers on top with 13 blcoked shots this season for IUPUI.
Live stats and audio for Wednesday's game will be available at nkunorse.com, along with a link to IUPUI's subscription-based video stream, where fans can purchase a single-game pass for $4.95.
LAST TIME AGAINST IUPUI: Dana Morningstar scored a game-high 14 points to lead NKU to a 47-44 victory over IUPUI on Feb. 10, 1996. Stephanie Jordan and Shannon Smith each pulled down six rebounds, while Katie Kelsey dished out five assists for NKU, which improved to 17-0 in the all-time series between the two schools with the win.
Katie Murphy finished the game with 12 points and eight rebounds to lead IUPUI, while Haley James added 10 points. The Jaguars, who moved up to the NCAA Division I level during the 1997-98 school year, finished with a 43-37 edge in rebounding and shot 31.4 percent from the floor for the game.
NKU began that same season by defeating IUPUI, 79-74, in Regents Hall. Jordan, one of four Norse players in double figures, led NKU with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Regina Webb added 17 points, while Morningstar chipped in 12 and Kelsey finished with 10 points.
AGAINST THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: NKU is 47-11 all-time against members of the Summit League. In addition to winning each of the 17 contests against IUPUI, NKU holds winning records against IPFW (28-7) and South Dakota (1-0), a 63-58 victory in the 2008 NCAA Division II national championship game.
The Norse also captured the 2000 Division II title against the Summit League's North Dakota State, 71-62 in overtime on March 25, 2005, to even that series at one. NKU has dropped each of its three meetings against South Dakota State, including a 65-50 decision to the Jackrabbits in the NCAA title game in St. Joseph, Mo., on March 29, 2003.
FRESHMEN HIGHS: Kelley Wieman scored a career-high 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the floor to lead NKU against Butler on Sunday afternoon. She also grabbed five rebounds and added two steals on the day. Sunday's game marked the third consecutive contest Wiegman topped her personal best in points as a Norse.
Morgan Blair and
Kelsey Key each scored their first collegiate points against the Bulldogs on Sunday. Blair stepped to the free throw line with 8:44 left in the first half and hit two free throws to get into the scoring column for the Norse. Key, a freshman guard from Anderson, Ind., followed suit in the second half and drained a pair from the charity stripe with 9:25 remaining in the game.
TOPS IN THE ATLANTIC SUN: The Norse rank No. 1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 63 points per game. NKU held Illinois State to a season-low 48 points on Nov. 13, and Butler's 53-point effort on Sunday was enough to hold on for a victory over the Norse.
GETTING TO THE LINE: NKU continues to shine from the free-throw line, leading the Atlantic Sun by connecting on 77 percent of its attempts. The Norse finished 15-for-19 from the charity stripe against Butler on Sunday to stretch their advantage over conference opponents.
As a reclassifying institution, NKU is not included in the national statistics rankings. However, if the Norse were able to be ranked, they would continue moving up the national rankings and would be tied with Northeastern in 14th place.
NKU has three players that rank in the top five in the Atlantic Sun from the free-throw line.
Melody Doss continues to lead the way, shooting 95 percent, while
Christine Roush follows in second place at 90.5 percent.
Lauren White rounds out the conference's top five, having connected on 27 of her 32 attempts for an 84.4 percent success rate.
FORCING TURNOVERS: Over NKU's first nine games of the season, the Norse have forced more turnovers than they have committed seven times. NKU ranks second in the Atlantic Sun in turnover margin at +5.11, just behind Florida Gulf Coast's +6.13. The Norse have forced their opponents into 172 (19.1 per game) miscues while only committing 126 (14.0 per game) of their own.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Rianna Gayheart ranks third in the Atlantic Sun in assist-to-turnover ratio. She has dished out a team-high 28 assist for an average of 3.1 assists per game while only turning the ball over 17 times for a 1.6 ratio. Mercer's Sharnea Boykin and Stetson's Jama Sharp boast a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio to lead the conference.
