Atlantic Sun Weekly Notes |
Game 18 Notes |
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Sat., Jan. 25
Highland Heights, Ky. – The Bank of Kentucky Center (9,400)
NKU (9-8 overall, 5-1 A-Sun) vs. Lipscomb (3-14 overall, 0-6 A-Sun)
Series Record: NKU leads 2-0
Last Meeting: NKU 75, LU 58 (Feb. 9, 2013)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team returns to The Bank of Kentucky Center for a three-game homestand, starting with a 7 p.m. contest against Lipscomb in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
NKU is 9-8 overall and 5-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference after dropping a 67-56 decision at Jacksonville Saturday, snapping the Norse's winning streak at five.
Melody Doss led the way for the NKU with her fifth double-double of the season, finishing the day with 17 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Christine Roush added 15 points, four rebounds and two assists for the Norse.
Lipscomb enters the contest 3-14 overall and 0-6 in the Atlantic Sun after falling to North Florida, 78-66, Saturday afternoon. Danay Fothergill led three Bisons in double figures with 27 points to help earn Atlantic Sun Player of the Week honors on Monday. Ashley Southern recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Sara Bliss added 16 points for Lipscomb against the Ospreys.
Fothergill is one of several Lipscomb players averaging in double figures, leading the way at 21.2 points over 11 games. Southern and Bliss are the only two Bisons who have started every game for Lipscomb. Southern adds 15.9 points and a conference-high 12.2 rebounds per game, while Bliss is averaging 11.1 points on the year. Maya Dillard directs the offense and has collected a team-high 65 assists, and her 4.3 assists per game ranks third in the conference.
As a team, Lipscomb ranks third in the Atlantic Sun in scoring offense by averaging 68.4 points per game. The Bisons have connected on 70.3 percent of their attempts from the free throw line to land fourth in the conference.
Links to live stats, the ASun.TV broadcast and Andrew Kappes' audio broadcast will be available at nkunorse.com.
LAST TIME AGAINST LIPSCOMB: Ellen Holton scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds as NKU defeated Lipscomb for the second time of the season on Feb. 9, 2013.
Kayla Thacker poured in 17 of her career-high 23 points in the second half for the Norse and made six 3-point field goals.
With Lipscomb holding a 42-39 lead early in the second half, NKU stormed back with a 17-0 run to gain a 56-42 advantage. The Norse extended the lead to as many as 21 points and cruised to the victory.
Thacker began the game-changing run by knocking down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 42-all. Holton followed with layup and a 3-pointer, and Thacker again took over. She hit a jumper in transition to give NKU a 49-42 edge and added another trey to extend the Norse lead to 52-42.
Christine Roush's basket made it 54-42, and Holton capped the spurt by making a pair of free throws.
Tiara Hopper added 11 points for the Norse, who posted a 66-33 win over Lipscomb in Highland Heights, Ky., earlier in the season.
Rianna Gayheart finished with nine points, seven assists and three steals for NKU, which shot 47.5 percent from the field and held a 26-12 advantage in points in the paint.
Hannah Phillips scored 22 points to lead Lipscomb, which was held to 26.9 percent shooting from the field in the second half and finished at 32.7 percent for the game.
STREAK CONTINUES: Christine Roush finished with 15 points against Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon to extend her double-figure scoring streak to five games. She started her streak with an 11-point performance against East Tennessee State on Jan. 4 and scored 14 points in the next three Atlantic Sun contests.
The sophomore guard from Louisville, Ky., is averaging 12.8 points per game over the first six Atlantic Sun games this season. After being held scoreless against Ball State on Dec. 21, Roush has raised her scoring average from 7.2 points to 9.2 on the year.
Roush is shooting 91.3 percent (42-for-46) from the charity stripe to lead the Norse and the Atlantic Sun this season. Her 52.6 percent shooting from behind the 3-point arc also tops the conference.
CONFERENCE IMPROVEMENT: Since reentering the starting lineup at the beginning of Atlantic Sun play,
Kaitlyn Gerrety has stepped up her rebounding game. The junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, averaged just 2.5 rebounds against non-conference opponents, but she has pulled down 6.2 rebounds per game against conference opponents.
This season, Gerrety has grabbed nine rebounds, which is one short of her career high, three times this season. She was one rebound short of her first double-double of the season against Tennessee Martin at the Robert Morris Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 30 with 14 points and nine boards. She also grabbed nine against USC Upstate on Jan. 2 and Kennesaw on Jan. 11.
DOSS' DOUBLE SUCCESS: Melody Doss recorded her fifth double-double of the season against Jacksonville Saturday afternoon with 17 points and 12 rebounds. NKU is now 4-1 on the year when the junior from Greenwood, Ind., records a double-double, a feat she had not accomplished before this season.
Doss collected her first career double-double against Cincinnati to start the season with a then-career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds on Nov. 9. She also posted double-doubles in wins against Tennessee Martin (23 points, a career-high 14 rebounds), USC Upstate (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Mercer (21 points, 13 rebounds).
HOT START: NKU is only in its second season as an NCAA Division I program and a member of the Atlantic Sun and started this season with a 5-1 conference mark. The last time the Norse started conference play this strong was during the 2010-11 season when NKU posted a 6-1 record to begin Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
The best conference record the Norse have put together over their 40-year history was a 19-1 mark over the 1999-2000 season when NKU captured its first of two national championships. The Norse also captured the national title in 2008 as well.
HOLDING OPPONENTS UNDER 60: NKU ranks third in the Atlantic Sun games in scoring defense. The Norse are holding conference opponents to just 58.8 points per game, including only giving up 51 points to North Florida a week ago. Florida Gulf Coast is holding the other team to 54.2 points to lead the Atlantic Sun. Jacksonville, which held the Norse to 56 points on Saturday afternoon, follows by limiting league teams to just 58.6 points.
BEHIND THE 3-POINT ARC: NKU ranks third in conference-only games in 3-point field goals made. The Norse have connected on 39 treys for an average of 6.5 per game. On the year, NKU ranks fourth in the Atlantic Sun with 103 made attempts from behind the arc (6.1 per game). Florida Gulf Coast tops the conference in Atlantic Sun action with 52 total 3-points for an average of 10.4.
SATURDAY PROMOTIONS: Saturday's game against Lipscomb is Take a Kid to the Game Night where all kids 12 and under will receive free admission.
Following the game, the women's second Shoot Around Saturday will take place. Girls in eighth grade and below and boys in sixth grade and below are invited to participate. They will have 30 seconds to shoot from designated spots on the floor. The participants will then have the opportunity to receive team autographs. The remaining dates for the Shoot Around Saturdays include:
Feb. 1 – Women vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 7 p.m.
Feb. 8 – Men vs. USC Upstate, 7 p.m.
Feb. 15 – Women vs. Jacksonville, 7 p.m.
