HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team returns to The Bank of Kentucky Center on Thursday to kick off a three-game homestand, starting with a Thursday night Atlantic Sun Conference matchup against Stetson.
 
Tipoff on Thursday is schedule for 7 p.m.  A link to live stats is available at nku.statbroadcast.com, and the ESPN3 broadcast link can be found on NKUNorse.com.  Fans unable to be in attendance can also follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for live in-game updates as well.
 
NKU moved to 12-8 overall and 3-2 in the Atlantic Sun Conference on Saturday after defeating Jacksonville, 70-59, in Jacksonville, Florida.  Christine Roush led the Norse offense with 22 points, while Kaitlyn Gerrety added 10 points, six rebounds, six steals and two assists.  Rianna Gayheart also finished with 10 points to go along with two assists and three steals.
 
The Norse took a 33-30 advantage into the locker room at the halftime break, but the Dolphins used an 8-0 run to take a 40-37 lead with just under 15 minutes to play.  Christine Roush and Rianna Gayheart later sparked an 11-0 NKU spurt with a pair of 3-pointers to put the Norse ahead for good at 50-42 with 10:32 remaining.  The Norse eventually pushed their lead to as many as 14, and Jacksonville was unable to get any closer than eight the rest of the way.
 
ABOUT STETSON: Stetson improved to 15-4 on the year and 4-1 in the Atlantic Sun with a 67-44 victory over South Carolina Upstate on Saturday.  Brianti Saunders led the way for the Hatters with 16 points and seven rebounds, while C.J. Coddington and Myeisha Hall each added 12 points.  Jama Sharp scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists for Stetson as well.
 
Saunders paces four Hatters averaging double-figures, contributing 13.5 points per game, and she ranks fourth in the Atlantic Sun in field-goal percentage at 47.6 percent (90-for-189).  Amber Porter tops conference shooters, connecting on 50.0 percent (98-for-196) of her attempts from the field, and she adds 13.0 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per contest.  Hall and Sharp are each averaging 12.9 points per game, while Sharp's 3.3 steals per games ranks 12th in the nation.
 
As a team, Stetson lands in the nation's top 30 in several categories.  The Hatters are limiting their opponents to just 33.6 percent shooting from the floor to rank 10th nationally, while they are holding the other team to a 26.5 percent accuracy from behind the 3-point arc, which is 20th in the country.  Stetson is outscoring its opponents by an average of 14.7 points per game to land 23rd nationally, and it is holding the other team to just 55.9 points per contest to rank 27th.
 
Head coach Lynn Bria is in her seventh season at the helm for Stetson.  Over her six season with the Hatters, the team has compiled a 108-87 record, including a 27-8 mark last season.  In 2013-14, Stetson finished with a 16-2 record in the Atlantic Sun, finishing second in the conference, and earned a berth to the WNIT.
 
NKU-STETSON SERIES: Stetson holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series with NKU, including a pair of victories in the last two meetings.  The Hatters handed the Norse a 62-39 defeat in the first ever meeting between the two programs on Jan. 21, 2013, before NKU evened the series with a 73-68 victory in The Bank of Kentucky Center later that season.  Stetson took both matchups against the Norse last season, posting a 90-66 win in Highland Heights and a 74-57 victory in DeLand, Florida.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST STETSON: Amber Porter scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Stetson to a 74-57 victory over NKU in DeLand, Florida, in the last contest between the two teams on Feb. 27, 2014. 
 
Porter went 11-for-14 from the floor and blocked three shots, while Sasha Sims came off the bench to score 12 points for the Hatters.  Cherisse Burris and Jama Sharp each added 11 as C.J. Coddington rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points
 
Melody Doss finished with 15 points and went 3-for-5 from behind the 3-point arc to lead NKU.  Kayla Thacker scored 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Kaitlyn Gerrety added 10 points and a team-high eight boards.
 
NKU used a 12-3 run to take a 20-10 advantage in the first half with 12:58 left, but Stetson countered with a 13-2 spurt over a four-minute span to regain the lead at 23-22.  Both teams traded baskets over the remainder of the opening stanza, and the Hatters took a 33-31 advantage into the break.
 
With Stetson holding a 36-33 lead early in the second half, Doss drained a 3-pointer to tie the game before Stetson used a 16-0 run, led by five points from Burris and four from Porter, to push its advantage to 52-36 with 12:26 left in the game.  The Hatters held a 65-44 lead with just under seven minutes remaining, and the Norse were unable to get any closer than 12 the rest of the way.
 
TOP REJECTORS: Stetson and NKU are the top two teams in the Atlantic Sun in blocked shots.  The Hatters average 4.7 rejections per game to lead the conference, while the Norse are turning away 3.6 attempts.  Stetson has blocked 90 shots as a team, led by Amber Porter's conference-leading 44 and Sarah Sagerer's 21.
 
NKU has recorded 73 total blocked shots this season.  Kaitlyn Gerrety leads the team and ranks third in the Atlantic Sun in both total rejections (27) and 1.4 blocks per game.  Christine Roush follows for the Norse with 19, which shares seventh in the conference, for an average of 1.0 per contest to land eighth.
 
TAKING IT AWAY: Kaitlyn Gerrety recorded a career-high six steals in NKU's 70-59 victory over Jacksonville on Saturday.  It topped her previous best of four, which she accomplished on two occasions.  She collected four steals against Miami (Ohio) during her sophomore campaign on Dec. 12, 2012, and she took the ball away four times against UNC Greensboro earlier this season.
 
The senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, leads the team with 33 steals, and her total ranks fifth in the Atlantic Sun.  She is averaging 1.6 takeaways per game to also land fifth in the conference standings.  Gerrety is adding 6.8 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per contest for the Norse.
 
THURSDAY'S PROMOTIONS: Thursday night's contest against Stetson will feature County Night.  Residents of Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties will receive $3 admission with proof of residency. 
 
UP NEXT: NKU continues its three-game homestand on Saturday when the Norse welcome Florida Gulf Coast to The Bank of Kentucky Center at 7 p.m.  It will be the second-straight County Night, and the evening will also feature $1 select beverages.  Girls through eighth grade and boys through sixth grade can take the court after the game to take a few shots at various baskets around the court and get player autographs as part of Shoot Around Saturday festivities.