HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team returns to The Bank of Kentucky Center on Wednesday as the Norse welcome local rival Cincinnati for the second consecutive season.
 
Tipoff for Wednesday's contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.  Links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast can be found at NKUNorse.com.  For live updates as the game progresses, be sure to follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter as well.
 
NKU enters the matchup against Cincinnati 5-5 overall after posting a 77-68 victory on the road at Marquette on Monday evening.  Christine Roush scored a career-high and game-high 29 points to go along with three steals to lead the Norse effort.  Melody Doss recorded her first double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Rianna Gayheart and Kaitlyn Gerrety each added eight points apiece.
 
The Norse held a 42-28 advantage at halftime, but the Golden Eagles opened the second half with a 12-4 run to cut the NKU lead to 46-40 with 15:29 remaining.  Marquette eventually sliced its deficit to just one point twice, with the last time coming at 56-55 at the 8:44 mark, but NKU responded with a 16-3 run to regain a 14-point (75-58) advantage with 2:32 left to play and held on for the win.
 
ABOUT CINCINNATI: The Bearcats are 1-7 on the year after dropping a 72-71 decision to Xavier on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.  Cincinnati led by as many as seven points in the second half, but the Musketeers used a 13-3 run midway through the closing stanza to take the lead for good.  Ana Owens scored 21 points, pulled down four rebounds and dished our four assists for the Bearcats, while Marley Hill added 17 points, a game-high nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
 
Owens paces the Cincinnati offense, averaging 13.1 points and 3.6 assists per game, while Hill adds 12.6 points and a team-high 9.7 boards per contest. Jasmine Whitfield is adding 12.3 points per game and has collected 10 steals.  Hill and Chelsea Jamison have each rejected five shots, and Bianca Quisenberry has intercepted a team-leading 11 passes this season.
 
Head coach Jamelle Elliott is in her sixth season with Cincinnati.  She entered the 2014-15 season with a 62-90 career record, which she has earned with the Bearcats.  Prior to taking her first lead role with Cincinnati at the beginning of the 2009-10 season, she spent 12 season at her alma mater, Connecticut, as an assistant coach under Geno Auriemma.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST CINCINNATI: Melody Doss poured in 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked two shots to lead NKU to a 77-61 victory over Cincinnati on Nov. 9, 2013, at The Bank of Kentucky Center in the last meeting between the two programs. Kayla Thacker added 18 points and seven boards for the Norse, while Christine Roush and Rianna Gayheart joined the double-digits scorers with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Doss finished 10-for-20 from the field and added two blocked shots as NKU cruised past the visiting Bearcats. The Norse held Cincinnati to 36.4 percent shooting from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 42-40 count to avenge a 49-31 loss to the Bearcats a year prior.
 
NKU used an 11-0 run in the second half to extend a 51-48 lead into a 62-48 advantage with 5:26 remaining. The Norse eventually led by as many as 19 points and improved to 9-8 all-time against Cincinnati.
 
The Norse finished 9-for-21 from 3-point range, with Thacker hitting a trio from behind the arc. Doss and Gayheart each buried a pair of treys.
 
Marley Hill scored 16 points to lead Cincinnati, while teammate Dayeesha Hollins scored 13. The Bearcats committed 17 turnovers, compared to just 10 for the Norse.
 
FIRST-HALF VICTORIES: NKU is a perfect 4-0 when taking a lead into the halftime break and 5-1 when scoring first.  The Norse started the season off strong, holding a lead at the half over Delaware State, 35-24, on the first day of the Akron Classic, before topping Illinois State by two (25-23) on Nov. 19.  NKU also took the advantage into the locker room against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 29 at the Navy Classic and at Marquette on Monday.
 
In addition to having the halftime lead in each of those four games, the Norse also scored first.  NKU also scored first in its come-from-behind victory against Grand Canyon on the first day of the Navy Classic on Nov. 28.  The only game the Norse have dropped when scoring first was a 65-59 loss to IPFW on Dec. 6.
 
ON THE BOARDS: NKU has outrebounded five of its opponents early in the season, and the Norse are 4-1 in those contests.  NKU finished with a 46-35 edge in rebounds against Delaware State on Nov. 14 in its 76-55 victory, but the Norse dropped a 77-38 decision to Ohio despite winning the battle on the boards, 41-33, two weeks later.  NKU has also posted wins when grabbing more boards than Grand Canyon (35-28), UNC Greensboro (41-39) and Marquette (42-40).
 
As a team, the Norse are averaging 37.0 rebounds per game, including a season-high 42 against Marquette on Monday evening.  On Nov. 22, NKU pulled down 37 boards, 19 of which were on the offensive end of the court, against Loyola (Chicago).  Kaitlyn Gerrety leads NKU rebounding effort, averaging 6.4 boards per game to tie for eighth place in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
CAREER NIGHT: Christine Roush poured in a career-high 29 points to help lead NKU to a 77-68 victory at Marquette on Monday evening.  Her performance against the Golden Eagles topped her previous personal best of 24 points, which she set in the program's first-ever NCAA Division I victory against Youngstown State at The Bank of Kentucky Center on Nov. 27, 2012. 
 
On Monday, Roush knocked down five of the team's 10 3-point field goals on the night, including three in the first half.  She also grabbed two rebounds, dished out two assists and collected three steals.  Roush connected on each of her six attempts from the free-throw line, as well.
 
The junior guard from Louisville, Kentucky, is averaging 12.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.  She tops the conference in free-throw shooting at 91.1 percent (41-for-45), and she is eighth in 3-point shooting at 37.0 percent (17-for-46).
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE SUCCESS: Melody Doss recorded her first double-double of the season on Monday against Marquette, adding 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.  This season, NKU is 2-0 when a player posts a double-double.  Kaitlyn Gerrety was the first Norse to accomplish the feat this season, scoring 11 points while grabbing 10 rebounds as NKU defeated UNC Greensboro, 66-58, on Nov. 29.
 
Doss is leads the team with a 13.1 scoring average, and she is pulling down 4.4 rebounds per game.  Gerrety is averaging 7.6 points and a team-high 6.3 boards per contest for the Norse as well.
 
WEDNESDAY'S PROMOTION: NKU will be hosting a Pajama Party to benefit the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center during Wednesday night's contest against Cincinnati.  Fans are encouraged to wear their pajamas to the game and will receive $3 admission if they bring a new pair of pajamas (with the tag still attached) for Cincinnati Children's patients.
 
UP NEXT: NKU will cross the Ohio River for its fourth neutral-site game of the season against Delaware.  The two teams will face off at Fifth Third Arena on Cincinnati's campus at 7 p.m.  Links to live stats will be available at NKUNorse.com prior to the game.  In-game updates will also be available by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.