HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky begins a two-game road trip Saturday with an Atlantic Sun Conference showdown against Mercer in Macon, Ga. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
Northern Kentucky is 11-12 overall, 8-6 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Mercer is 18-7 overall, 12-2 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Bears are two games behind league-leading Florida Gulf Coast in the A-Sun standings.
The Norse conclude the trip Monday night by visiting Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. That will also mark the final road game of the season for Northern Kentucky.
AT STAKE: Northern Kentucky is attempting to finish in the top four of the A-Sun standings in its first year of playing Division I basketball. The Norse also have a streak of 29 consecutive winning seasons. The Norse need three victories in their final four games to extend that streak to 30 straight. Since an 0-4 start, Northern Kentucky has posted an 11-8 record.
REGAL EAGLES: Sarah Hansen scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Monday night as Florida Gulf Coast won its 16th consecutive game with a 68-53 victory at Northern Kentucky. The Eagles were 10-for-32 from 3-point range and snapped Northern Kentucky's four-game winning streak.
Florida Gulf Coast has now won 33 consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season games and is trying to secure its second straight unbeaten campaign in the league.
INSIDE FORCE: Senior forward
Tiara Hopper scored 18 points to lead Northern Kentucky against Florida Gulf Coast. Hopper also grabbed nine rebounds.
THACKER'S BOARDS: Norse junior guard
Kayla Thacker collected 10 rebounds against Florida Gulf Coast, her second consecutive double-digit performance on the boards. Thacker grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds against Stetson last Saturday.
PERFECT TREND: Northern Kentucky is unbeaten (10-0) when leading at halftime this season. The Norse are also perfect (5-0) when scoring more than 71 points.
CENTURY MARK LOOMS: Jaimie Hamlet also enters Saturday with 99 career 3-point field goals, which is No. 9 in school history. Heather Livingstone (99 treys) is currently in eighth place on the Norse all-time list, and Amy Mobley (104) is seventh.
MOVING UP THE LIST: Senior center
Ellen Holton enters Saturday with 710 career points, which is 46th in Norse history. Brandi Rayburn is No. 45 with 719 career points, while Heather Livingstone is No. 44 with 745 points.
ON THE GLASS: Norse freshman guard
Rianna Gayheart grabbed a career-high six rebounds against Florida Gulf Coast on Monday night. She also scored 10 points and collected three steals in that game.
THE COACH: Northern Kentucky's
Dawn Plitzuweit is 128-51 as a head coach. Plitzuweit collected 117 wins in five seasons at Grand Valley State and led the Lakers to the 2006 NCAA Division II national championship. She is in her first year with the Norse.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST MERCER: Earlier this season on Jan. 28 in Highland Heights, Ky., Precious Bridges scored 20 points to lead Mercer to a 77-67 win over Northern Kentucky in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
Kendra Grant added 19 points as the Bears shot 53.1 percent from the field in the second half and held off a late NKU rally to win the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Tiara Hopper scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead NKU.
Jaimie Hamlet added 14 points and five assists for the Norse, who were 9-for-15 from 3-point range.
Mercer finished with a 28-10 advantage in points off the bench and an 18-5 edge in second-chance points. The Bears won the rebounding battle by a 40-34 count and committed just five turnovers.
With NKU holding a 12-8 lead in the first half, Mercer used an 11-0 run to take a 19-12 advantage with 6:32 remaining in the half. After
Ellen Holton's layup tied the game at 22-all with 4:48 left in the first half, Mercer closed out the half with a 10-3 run to take a 32-25 advantage into the break. Bridges and Alicia Williams each scored four points during the spurt.
The Bears extended their lead to 42-30 with 16:35 remaining in the game, but the Norse rallied and a 3-point field goal by
Rianna Gayheart cut the Mercer lead to 44-38. Once again, Mercer stretched the its advantage up to 10 (55-45), but NKU slowly chipped away at the lead.
The Norse hit five 3-point field goals, including three by Hamlet, in the final 5:30 of the game but could not pull any closer than six points the rest of the way.
