HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team welcomes Kennesaw State to The Bank of Kentucky Center on Wednesday night on Senior Night in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
 
The Norse will honor their three seniors, Melody Doss, Kaitlyn Gerrety and Malika Glover, in a pregame ceremony before the scheduled tip at 7 p.m.  A link to live stats is available at nku.statbroadcast.com, and the ESPN3 link is provided at NKUNorse.com.  Fans can also track the game's progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.
 
NKU enters Wednesday night's contest 15-12 overall and 6-6 in the Atlantic Sun after posting a 67-29 victory over North Florida in Regents Hall on Saturday.  Eleven different Norse players got into the scorebook, led by Christine Roush's 14 points and six rebounds.  Kelley Wiegman added eight points, while Melody Doss, Courtney Roush and Kasey Uetrecht finished with seven points apiece.
 
After North Florida opened the game with a 3-pointer from Sierra Shepard, the Norse rattled off nine straight points, including five from Christine Roush, over the next four minutes to set the tone in the early part of the game. The Norse maintained their edge for the first 10 minutes of the contest as seven different players got in the scorebook early to help the Norse to a 21-12 lead and eventually built a 33-15 lead at the halftime break.
 
The Norse continued to press the advantage, opening the second half on a 9-2 run over the first three minutes of the stanza, keyed by a layup and a 3-pointer from Wiegman, made it a 42-17 NKU lead. The 25-point advantage held through the halfway point of the second half until the Norse finished the game on a 17-4 run to reach the final score.
 
ABOUT KENNESAW STATE: The Owls are 16-11 overall and 5-7 in the Atlantic Sun after dropping a 70-58 decision to Stetson on Saturday.  Kristina Wells scored 14 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead Kennesaw State, while Aareon Smith added 14 points and Jasmine McAllister contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.  Katie Hunt rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and six boards for the Owls.
 
Kennesaw State features three players averaging in double digits.  Sawyers paces the Owls with 14.1 points per game, while McAllister is adding a double-double at 13.6 points and a team-leading 10.4 rebounds, which ranks second in the Atlantic Sun, per contest.  Wells is averaging 11.7 points and a team-leading 3.6 assists, which is third-most in the conference, while Karly Frye is dishing out 3.4 assists to round out the top five in the Atlantic Sun.
 
Head coach Nitra Perry is in her third season with Kennesaw State, and she compiled a 13-48 record over her first two years.  The team's 16 victories this season is the most for the team since the Owls won 16 during the 2007-08 season.
 
NKU/KENNESAW STATE SERIES: NKU holds a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series against Kennesaw State after dropping a 66-58 decision to the Owls in Kennesaw, Georgia, on Jan. 14.  The Norse won both meetings during the 2012-13 season, taking a 65-49 victory in The Bank of Kentucky Center before holding on for a 55-49 win at Kennesaw State.  Last season, NKU handed the Owls a 79-51 defeat on the Norse home court before suffering a 53-39 setback in the second meeting between the two programs a year ago.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST KENNESAW STATE: Deandrea Sawyers scored 26 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the floor and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to lead Kennesaw State the win NKU earlier this season.  Kelly Dulkoski finished with 12 points on 4-for-6 from 3-point territory off the bench for the Owls, while Jasmine McAllister rounded out the double-figure scorers with an 11-point effort.
 
The Norse jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, but the Owls used a 9-3 run to climb back into the game and pull to within 13-11.  NKU pushed its lead back to 21-15 with just under four minutes left in the first half, and the Norse maintained the six-point advantage until halftime, taking a 25-19 lead into the locker room.
 
With the Norse holding a 35-32 advantage, Karly Frye and Dulkoski hit back-to-back treys to give Kennesaw State its first lead of the game at 38-37 with 12:04 remaining in the second half.  The two teams traded baskets before a pair of free throws from Shar'Rae Davis and conventional three-point play by Gayheart gave NKU a 44-40 advantage with 9:37 on the clock.  Kennesaw State answered with an 8-0 run, highlighted by a pair of 3-point field goals from Dulkoski, for its own four-point (48-44) lead with under eight minutes left to play, and the Norse were unable to overcome the deficit.
 
Rianna Gayheart led the NKU offense with 13 points and two assists, while Christine Roush added 12 points, two assists and two steals.  Kasey Uetrecht finished with nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from long range, and Melody Doss and Kaitlyn Gerrety each pulled down a team-high six rebounds each for the Norse.
 
SENIOR RECOGNITION: NKU will honor the team's three senior prior to Wednesday's game.  Melody Doss, Kaitlyn Gerrety and Malika Glover have helped lead the Norse to 69 victories and have been an integral part of NKU's successful transition to the Division I level.
 
Doss, a forward from Greenwood, Indiana, has scored 1,079 points to currently sit 23rd on NKU's all-time scorers list.  She has pulled down 474 career rebounds, which is 33rd in school history, and she has blocked 84 shots, which is seventh-best at NKU.  This season, Doss has recorded three double-doubles and leads the team with a 13.8 scoring average.
 
Gerrety, a senior center from Cincinnati, Ohio, has scored 458 points and pulled down 387 rebounds during her four-year career with the Norse, and she leads the team in several categories.  She has pulled down 141 rebounds this season, including 38 offensive boards, and she has rejected 33 shots and collected 37 steals for NKU this season.  She grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds against Georgetown on Jan. 6 and dished out five assists against Jacksonville on Feb. 15. 
 
Glover, a guard from East Lansing, Michigan, came to NKU after transferring from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.  Though she has been sidelined by injuries during her time as a Norse, she has helped make her impact through her involvement with both NKU and the Atlantic Sun's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  This season, Glover is currently serving as the Atlantic Sun's SAAC chair after being named the committee's secretary the year prior.  She made her home debut for NKU on Saturday against North Florida as the Norse posted a 67-29 win over the Ospreys. 
 
DEFENSIVE STAND: NKU set a two new NCAA Division I benchmarks in its 67-29 victory over North Florida on Saturday.  The 38-point margin of victory is the team's largest since beginning the transition, topping a 33-point (66-33) victory over Lipscomb on Jan. 12, 2013.
 
Similarly, the 29 points allowed is the lowest total allowed by the Norse as a Division I program, which also surpassed the 33 points NKU gave up against the Lady Bisons in its first season of D-I action.  It is also the least number of points surrendered since the Norse held Salem International to 19 points in a 75-19 win on Nov. 19, 2011.
 
WEDNESDAY'S SCENARIO: NKU can secure a top-four spot in the upcoming Atlantic Sun tournament with a win and South Carolina Upstate loss on Wednesday night.  The top four teams in the conference will host first-round tournament games, and the top advancing seeds will host the semifinal contests and championship game.
 
Florida Gulf Coast, which entered the weekly rankings at No. 21 in the Associated Press and No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches polls, has already secured the top spot in the tournament, boasting a 12-0 conference mark, while Stetson will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed.  NKU and Jacksonville are each 6-6 in the Atlantic Sun, while Kennesaw State and USC Upstate enter the final week of play at 5-7 in league play.
 
UP NEXT: NKU will conclude the 2014-15 regular season on Saturday with a trip to Spartanburg, South Carolina to face USC Upstate.  The contest is slated for a 2 p.m. start time from Hodge Center.  Links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.