HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team continues its season-opening road trip on Wednesday as the Norse head to Normal, Illinois, to take on Illinois State.
 
Tipoff from Redbird Arena is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. Eastern.  Links to live stats and the video broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.  Be sure to follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter as well for live updates as the game progresses.
 
NKU enters the Illinois State contest 1-1 overall after splitting a pair of games at the Akron Classic over the weekend.  Melody Doss and Faith Sanders combined for 27 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Norse to a 76-55 victory over Delaware State on Friday.  Christine Roush added 14 points against the Hornets, and she led the team with 19 on Saturday as NKU dropped an 82-49 decision to Akron.  Doss finished with 11 points and two steals against the Zips.
 
ABOUT ILLINOIS STATE: The Redbirds opened the 2014-15 season with losses to Northern Illinois and Wisconsin over the weekend to fall to 0-2 early on the year.  Illinois State outscored Northern Illinois in the second half in Friday's contest, but the effort was not enough to overcome its first-half deficit as the Huskies held on for a 55-51 victory.  Wisconsin placed three players in double-digits to lead the Badgers to a 71-60 win on Sunday.
 
Senior guard Katy Winge leads the Redbird offense, averaging 18.5 points per game.  She collected six rebounds and three assists in the first two games of the season, and she went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.  Junior guard Stekara Hall is averaging 9.0 points for Illinois State, while junior forward Octavia Crump leads the team with an 8.5 rebounding average.  Sophomore guard Taylor Stewart has dished out a team-high nine assists.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST ILLINOIS STATE: Melody Doss scored a career-high 29 points on 11-for-12 shooting from the field to lead NKU to a 61-48 victory over Illinois State on Nov. 13, 2013, at The Bank of Kentucky Center.
 
Doss also grabbed nine rebounds, collected five steals and blocked three shots for NKU.  Christine Roush and Kayla Thacker each added 10 points for the Norse, who shot 61.1 percent from the field in the second half and forced the Redbirds into 28 turnovers overall.  Rianna Gayheart dished out four assists and had three steals for NKU.
 
After Illinois State took a 24-22 lead into the locker room at halftime, the Norse held Illinois State without a field goal for more than 10 minutes late in the second half to fuel a game-ending 25-8 run.  The Redbirds owned a 40-36 lead with 10:08 left after a basket by Brianna Puni, but Doss scored 12 of NKU's next 13 points as the Norse forged a 49-43 advantage with 4:27 left on the clock.  Illinois State would not convert another field goal until Katy Winge drained a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining.
 
Alexis Foley led Illinois State with nine points and three rebounds, while Chloe Nelson added eight points, two assists and two steals.
 
NKU took a 3-2 lead in the all-time series against the Redbirds with the win.  The two teams had not met since Jan. 3, 1981, when Illinois State posted a 91-61 win over the Norse in the Northern Kentucky Invitational Tournament in Regents Hall.
 
AGAINST THE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE: NKU is 10-6 all-time against members of the Missouri Valley Conference.  In addition to the 3-2 lead in the series against Illinois State, the Norse also hold a winning record against Indiana State (5-1).  NKU is 1-1 against both Loyola (Chicago) and Missouri State, while Drake is 1-0 all-time against NKU.
 
The Norse will play one more Missouri Valley school during the 2014-15 season.  Loyola visits The Bank of Kentucky Center on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m.  While it will be the Ramblers first trip to The Bank of Kentucky Center, it will mark the team's second time in Highland Heights, Kentucky.  NKU welcomed Loyola to Regents Hall on Dec. 22, 2005 while the Norse were still an NCAA Division II program and defeated the Ramblers, 74-55.
 
STRONG START: Junior guard Christine Roush averaged 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds to start her third season with NKU off strong.  She opened the 2014-15 season with a 14-point, four-rebound performance to help lead the Norse to a 76-55 victory over Delaware State in the opening game of the Akron Classic.  She followed that by pouring in a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds on Saturday as NKU fell to Akron, 82-49.
 
Roush went 10-for-12 from the free-throw line and connected on three of her six 3-point attempts.  In Saturday's contest, she blocked two shots for the Norse.  For her performance over the two-game Akron Classic, Roush earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
 
DOUBLE-DIGIT STREAK: Senior forward Melody Doss scored 18 points to lead NKU to a 76-55 victory over Delaware State on Friday afternoon, and she added 11 points for the Norse against Akron on Saturday.  Doss was named to the Akron Classic all-tournament team for her efforts over the weekend.
 
Doss has now scored in double-figures in eight consecutive games, dating back to last season.  She finished the 2013-14 season scoring 12 or more points in the final six games of the year, highlighted by a 25-point performance against East Tennessee State in the regular-season finale.  She averaged 16.0 points over the last six games a year ago.
 
BLOCK PARTY: As a team, NKU is averaging 5.0 blocks per game to rank second in the Atlantic Sun Conference, landing just behind FGCU's 6.0 blocked shots per contest after the first weekend of play.  The Norse rejected four Delaware State attempts to open the season on Friday before turning away six against Akron the next day.
 
Senior forward Melody Doss and freshman forward/center Molly Franson lead the team's defensive efforts with three blocked shots apiece to tie for third in the Atlantic Sun.  Doss collected all three of hers against Delaware State, while Franson recorded all three against Akron. 
 
Junior guard Christine Roush rejected a pair of long-range attempts against the Zips on Saturday, and senior center Kaitlyn Gerrety and freshman forward Faith Sanders have each turned away one shot apiece.
 
UP NEXT: NKU opens the home portion of its 2014-15 schedule against Loyola (Chicago) on Saturday, Nov. 22 with a special tribute game "FOR#22ON22" dedicated to Lauren Hill and benefiting The Cure Starts Now Foundation.  The organization will be in attendance accepting donations to help raise funds for cancer research and will have a special guest speaker at halftime.
 
The game will be the first in a doubleheader with the men's team and is slated for a 4 p.m. start time.  Fans are invited onto the court following the women's game to make a donation and participate in the #Layups4Lauren Challenge, which consists of making a layup with the non-dominant hand after turning around in a circle five times.