HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team kicks off a five-game road trip with a pair of games at the Navy Classic in Annapolis, Maryland, this weekend.
The Norse open the event, hosted by the Naval Academy, on Friday with a 6 p.m. contest against Grand Canyon before taking on UNC Greensboro on Saturday at 6 p.m. Links to live stats are available at NKUNorse.com. Be sure to follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for live in-game updates this season as well.
NKU enters the Navy Classic 2-3 overall after falling to Ohio, 77-38, on Tuesday at The Bank of Kentucky Center.
Shar'Rae Davis led the Norse offense with eight points, and she pulled down six rebounds, while
Mikayla Terry added a game-high 10 boards to go along with six points.
Sarah Kinch dished out three assists as
Molly Franson grabbed a season-high six rebounds for NKU.
ABOUT GRAND CANYON: The Antelopes bring a 1-2 record to Annapolis after dropping an 84-77 decision to Austin Peay on Nov. 22. Grand Canyon erased a 15-point deficit in the second half but was unable to complete the comeback. August Touchard led the Antelopes with an 18-point performance, courtesy of five 3-point field goals, while Courtney Hayes scored 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor. Astrea Reed added 13 points, and Cheyenne Hedrington pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
Grand Canyon boasts three players averaging in double-figures, led by Touchard's 13.3 points per game. Jessica Gajewski adds 12.3 points for the Antelopes, while Hayes is averaging 10.7 per contest. Hedrington is pulling down 12.0 rebounds per game, as Hayes is dishing out 4.7 assists for Grand Canyon and leads the team with 11 steals.
Head coach Trent May is in his eighth season with the Antelopes, and he boasts a 152-57 career record at Grand Canyon, making him the program's all-time winningest coach. The 2014-15 season marks May's 14th overall as a head coach, having spent six years at Bethany College before taking the Antelopes' helm.
Friday will mark the first-ever meeting between NKU and Grand Canyon.
ABOUT UNC GREENSBORO: The Spartans are 2-2 on the year following a 70-64 victory over Longwood in Farmville, Virginia, on Monday. Lucy Mason scored 14 of her game-high 24 points to lead UNC Greensboro, and she went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line to help seal the win. Jarae Savage added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Shanese Harris finished with six points, six rebounds and four assists for the Spartans.
Mason paces the UNC Greensboro offense by averaging 16.8 points per game, and she leads the team with 11 assists. Savage contributes 14.5 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per contest, while Jessica Collins is averaging 3.0 assists per game for the Spartans.
Head coach Wendy Palmer is in her fourth season leading UNC Greensboro, and she claims a 19-71 record in three seasons over her first head coaching position.
UNC Greensboro has never faced NKU in women's basketball.
AGAINST THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE: NKU owns a 10-3 record against members of the Southern Conference, taking the advantage in each series. The Norse hold the advantage against former Atlantic Sun Conference foes East Tennessee State and Mercer, as both teams are in their first season competing in the league. NKU boasts a perfect 4-0 mark against ETSU and are 3-1 all-time against Mercer. The Norse are 3-2 against UT Chattanooga.
FRESHMEN ON THE GLASS: Three of NKU's freshmen combined for almost half of the team's rebounds Tuesday night against Ohio. The Norse won the rebounding battle against the Bobcats by a 41-33 margin with 20 boards coming from their first-year players.
Mikayla Terry grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to lead the Norse, while
Molly Franson pulled down a season-high 6 against the Bobcats.
Faith Sanders rounded out the freshmen effort with 4 boards of her own.
Terry, a 5-foot-11 forward from Lansing, Michigan, is averaging 5.6 rebounds per game, landing her among the top 20 in the Atlantic Sun. Sanders, a 5-foot-11 forward from Savannah, Georgia, pulled down 11 boards in her Norse debut and is pulling down 4.0 per contest. Franson, a 6-foot-2 post player from Tinley Park, Illinois, averages 3.4 boards per game.
SHARING THE BALL: Kelley Wiegman and
Rianna Gayheart have combined for more than 40 percent of NKU's assists this season. Wiegman leads the team with 10, while Gayheart has dished out seven of the Norse's 40 assists.
Wiegman, a sophomore guard from Cincinnati, Ohio, opened the season strong, tying her career high with six helpers against Delaware State on Nov. 14. Gayheart, a sophomore guard from Owenton, Kentucky, dished out a season-high four assists against Illinois State on Nov. 19.
