Atlantic Sun Weekly Release |
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Sat., Jan. 4
Johnson City, Tenn. – Mountain State Health Alliance Athletics Center (14,000)
NKU (5-7 overall, 1-0 Atlantic Sun) vs. East Tennessee State (5-7 overall, 1-0 Atlantic Sun)
Series Record: NKU leads 2-0
Last Meeting: NKU 77, ETSU 76 (Feb. 4, 2013)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team continues its conference-opening road trip on Saturday as the Norse face East Tennessee State in Atlantic Sun Conference action in Johnson City, Tenn., at the Mountain State Health Alliance Athletics Center at 1:30 p.m.
NKU enters the contest 5-7 overall and 1-0 in the Atlantic Sun after earning a 76-60 victory over South Carolina Upstate on Thursday in Spartanburg, S.C.
Melody Doss recorded her third double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead NKU, while
Kelley Wiegman added a career-high 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Wiegman finished 9-for-10 from the free-throw line.
ETSU is also 5-7 on the year and 1-0 in the Atlantic Sun. The Bucs held off a late Lipscomb rally for a 78-75 home victory on Thursday. Serena Clark finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bucs, while Cara Bowling added 13 points, five rebounds and three steals. Jasmine Hotchkins did not miss a shot on the night and recorded 11 points for ETSU.
Clark leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 11 per game, and she is one of four Bucs averaging in double figures this season with a team-high 13.2 scoring average. Bowling adds 12.7 points per game, while Brianna McQueen contributes 11.1 points and Maria Bond averages 10.1 points for the Bucs. As a team, ETSU leads the conference in 3-point shooting, having connected on 35.2 percent of its attempts.
Links to live stats, the ASun.TV broadcast and Andrew Kappes' audio broadcast will be available at nkunorse.com.
LAST TIME AGAINST EAST TENNESSEE STATE: Melody Doss converted a jumper with four seconds remaining to give NKU a 77-76 victory at ETSU on Feb. 4, 2013.
NKU trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and still faced a 76-71 deficit with less than a minute to play.
Tiara Hopper, though, scored two quick baskets to cut the ETSU lead to 76-75 with 19 seconds left on the clock.
Kayla Thacker then stole the ball from ETSU's Serena Clark, giving the Norse a chance to win.
Rianna Gayheart drove the lane, found Doss open near the foul line, and Doss buried a jumper to give NKU a 77-76 advantage with four seconds remaining.
ETSU had a final shot, but Clark's short jumper was off target, giving NKU an improbable come-from-behind win and the season sweep of the Bucs.
Hopper led NKU with 21 points, and Doss scored a then-career-high 15 points.
Jaimie Hamlet added 13 points for the Norse, while Gayheart finished with 11 points and five assists.
The win gave the Norse a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams. NKU also posted a 68-55 victory over ETSU at The Bank of Kentucky Center earlier in the season.
71-POINT THRESHOLD: The Norse are continuing their success from last season when scoring 71 or more points with their 76-60 victory over USC Upstate on Thursday. This season, NKU is 3-0 when hitting the 71-point threshold, having defeated Cincinnati, 77-61, on Nov. 9 and Robert Morris, 71-62, on Nov. 29 at the RMU Thanksgiving Classic. Last year, the Norse posted a perfect 6-0 mark when scoring 71 points or more.
ADVANTAGE ON THE BOARDS: NKU finished with a 39-36 rebounding advantage and improved to 3-0 on the season when outrebounding its opponent. The Norse also outrebounded Cincinnati (42-40) on Nov. 9 to open the season and Tennessee Martin (47-39) on Nov. 30 at the RMU Thanksgiving Classic.
KICKING OFF THE NEW YEAR: After dropping each of its four games in December, NKU kicked off 2014 with a 76-60 victory over USC Upstate. A year ago, the Norse started the month of January with a 3-1 recording, including three straight home wins against USC Upstate (70-62), East Tennessee State (68-55) and Lipscomb (66-33) after dropping a 59-55 decision to North Florida on the road to start the new year.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE SUCCESS: Melody Doss recorded her third double-double of the season against USC Upstate with her 24-point, 11-rebound performance. She started the season against Cincinnati in the same fashion with 24 points and 11 rebounds to help lead the Norse to a 77-61 victory. Doss later scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as NKU defeated Tennessee Martin on Nov. 30 at the RMU Thanksgiving Classic.
FROM LONG RANGE: NKU holds the top two spots in the Atlantic Sun in 3-point shooting.
Christine Roush is shooting 48 percent from long range to lead the conference and has gone 12-for-25 from behind the 3-point arc. She is followed by
Melody Doss who has connected on 47.4 percent of her attempts, going 18-for-38 on the year including a perfect 3-for-3 performance against USC Upstate on Thursday.
