Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Atlantic Sun Weekly Release | Game 26 Notes | Live stats | Live video | Live audio

Thurs., Feb. 27
DeLand, Fla. – Edmunds Center (4,000)
NKU (15-10 overall, 11-3 A-Sun) vs. Stetson (22-5 overall, 14-1 A-Sun)
Series Record: SU leads 2-1
Last Meeting: SU 90, NKU 66 (Jan. 30, 2014)

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team begins its last regular season road trip in DeLand, Fla., on Thursday night as the Norse take on Stetson in the Edmunds Center looking to avenge an early season loss at 7 p.m. in Atlantic Sun Conference action.

NKU is 15-10 overall and 11-3 in the Atlantic Sun Conference after holding off a late Lipscomb rally for a 61-57 victory in Nashville, Tenn., last Saturday.  Kayla Thacker led the way for NKU with a career-high 24 points and nine rebounds to help secure the Norse's 31st consecutive winning season.  Christine Roush finished with nine points and grabbed four rebounds, while Kelley Wiegman added nine points and three assists.

Stetson, which has clinched a first round home game in the Atlantic Sun Championship, enters the contest 22-5 on the year and 14-1 in the Atlantic Sun after defeating Jacksonville, 85-63, on Saturday.  Amber Porter led five players in double figures with a 22-point performance.  Brianti Saunders added 18, while Cherisse Burris scored 15.  Myeisha Hall and Jama Sharp finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively, to round out the scoring.

Sasha Sims leads five Stetson players averaging in double figures this season by averaging 14.6 points per game.  She is followed by Porter's 14.0  and Saunders' 13.1 points.  Sharp adds 11.6 points per contest.  Burris rounds out the scoring for the Hatters with an average of 10.9 points, and Porter leads the team with a 7.9 rebounding average.

Sharp has dished out 151 assists this season to land second in the Atlantic Sun with an average of 5.6 per contest, and she leads the conference with 63 steals (2.3 spg).  On the defensive end, Porter ranks second among Atlantic Sun opponents with 94 blocks on the year for an average of 3.5 rejections per game.

As a team, Stetson leads the Atlantic Sun in several categories.  The Hatters' 79.9 scoring average is first in the conference as is their 46.3 field-goal percentage.  Stetson is shooting 34.7 percent from behind the 3-point arc to lead the Atlantic Sun, and the Hatters also top the conference by pulling down 43.3 rebounds per game.  The team is shooting 72.6 percent from the free-throw line to rank just behind NKU.

Links to live stats, the ASun.TV broadcast and Andrew Kappes' audio broadcast will be available at nkunorse.com.

LAST TIME AGAINST STETSON:  Sasha Sims and Amber Porter combined for 34 points and 15 rebounds to lead Stetson to a 90-66 victory over NKU on Jan. 30 at The Bank of Kentucky Center.

Porter, the five-time Atlantic Sun Newcomer of the Week honoree this season, scored 17 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor and grabbed nine rebounds for Stetson.  She also dished out three assists, while Sims finished with 17 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Lauren White finished with a career-high 23 points to lead the way for NKU.  She finished 7-for-12 from the floor and knocked down five 3-point field goals.  The freshman from Edwardsville, Ill., also grabbed five rebounds and collected one assist, blocked shot and steal on the night.

Back-to-back 3-point field goals by Brianti Saunders and Jama Sharp jumped Stetson out to an early 6-0 lead, but an 11-2 run gave NKU an 11-8 advantage with 12:38 left in the first half.  Kayla Thacker and Melody Doss each scored four points for the Norse during the spurt.

The Hatters, however, answered with an 11-0 run to regain the lead at 19-11 less than two minutes later.  Stetson stretched its lead to 10 (27-17), but NKU capitalized on the Hatters' turnovers to spark a 13-5 run to come to within 32-30 with 3:13 left in the half.

Both teams traded points the rest of the way as Stetson took a 37-35 advantage into halftime.  NKU forced the Hatters into 12 turnovers and shot 41.9 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.  The Norse knocked down six 3-pointers before the break, and Stetson finished at 48.1 percent from the field in the first half.

The Hatters held NKU scoreless for almost seven minutes to open the second half and used a 19-5 run for a 56-40 lead to break the game open with 11:14 left on the clock.  Stetson eventually stretched its lead to 28 points (82-54), and the Norse would get no closer than 24 the rest of the way.

Sharp added 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and six steals for the Hatters.  Cherisse Burris finished with 11 points and seven rebounds and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Christine Roush added 12 points and dished out six assists for the Norse, while Thacker scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds on the night.

Stetson finished with a 43-36 advantage on the boards and shot 48.2 percent from the floor for the game.

With the win, the Hatters took a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs.  Last season, NKU defeated Stetson, 73-68, at The Bank of Kentucky Center to avenge an early-season 62-39 road loss.

TAKING ON THE TOP:  This week, NKU will face the top two teams in the Atlantic Sun.  Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast, which the Norse will play on Saturday, are both 14-1 in the conference.  The Hatters' lone loss came in a 72-56 setback to FGCU on Jan. 4 to start league play.  Stetson has not lost since and enter Thursday's contest having won 14 consecutive games.

NKU used a 63-43 victory over FGCU on Feb. 1 to snap the Eagles' 44-game regular season Atlantic Sun winning streak.  Prior to the upset, FGCU had not lost a game to a conference opponent since USC Upstate handed the Eagles a 75-74 defeat on Feb. 28, 2011.

CAREER NIGHTS AGAINST LIPSCOMB:  Kayla Thacker led the Norse to a 61-57 victory over Lipscomb by scoring a career-high 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the floor.  The senior guard from Mt. Washington, Ky., also knocked down three 3-pointers for NKU.  She pulled down nine rebounds and connected on three free throws as well on the day for the Norse.  Thacker played all 40 minutes of the game for the third time the season.  She also recorded one steal and one blocked shot.

Her 24-point performance topped her previous best of 23, which she also set against the Lady Bisons on Feb. 9, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn.  Over the four games the two teams have played, Thacker averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

This season, Thacker is averaging 12.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, both which rank second on the team.  She leads NKU in several categories, including made 3-pointers (46), offensive rebounds (48) and minutes played (830).

BATTLE OF THE BOARDS:  NKU finished with a 33-29 edge in rebounds as the Norse defeated Lipscomb on Saturday to improve to 8-1 on the year when outrebounding opponents.  NKU also captured wins against Cincinnati (Nov. 9), Tennessee Martin (Nov. 30), South Carolina Upstate (Jan. 2), Mercer twice (Jan. 9 and Feb. 6), Kennesaw State (Jan. 11) and North Florida (Feb. 13).

The Norse outrebounded Kennesaw State on Feb. 8 in Kennesaw, Ga., but the Owls pulled out a 53-39 victory for the only NKU loss when grabbing more rebounds than the other team this season.

REACHING 15 WINS:  NKU secured its 31st consecutive winning season with its 61-57 victory over Lipscomb on Saturday night in Allen Arena.  The team continued the winning season streak last season with a 57-44 victory over North Florida at The Bank of Kentucky Center in the final week of conference action.

With four games to go in the season, the Norse need just one more win to eclipse the total victories NKU achieved during its 2012-13 season.  The Norse finished their inaugural year competing at the NCAA Division I level last season with a 15-13 overall record.

CHASING 150:  NKU head coach Dawn Plitzuweit needs three more wins for her 150th career victory as a head coach.  Plitzuweit, who is in her second season with the Norse, helped ensure NKU's 31st consecutive winning season with the win against Lipscomb on Saturday night. She guided the Norse to a berth to the Women's Basketball Invitational with a 15-13 record in her first season with NKU.  Overall, Plitzuweit now owns a 147-62 career record after spending five seasons as the head coach at Grand Valley State University where she led the Lakers to four postseason berths, including the 2005-06 NCAA Division II national championship.

ON THIS DATE IN NKU HISTORY:  On Feb. 27, 1988, NKU dropped a record-breaking 131-130 decision to Saint Joseph's in five overtimes in Renssealer, Ind.  Linda Honigford scored 32 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to lead the Norse, while Julie Wells and Natalie Ochs added 19 each.  Cindy Schlarman finished with 17 and Christine Freppon scored 16 to round out the double-figure scorers for NKU.

Jeannette Yeoman finished with 50 points on the night, including the game-winning basket with seven seconds left in the game.  The Norse had one last chance at the win but turned the ball over in their final possession.

The game set nine NCAA Division II records at the time, including: