HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team wraps up the 2014-15 regular season on Saturday as the Norse travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina, to take on South Carolina Upstate in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
 
Tipoff from Hodge Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.  Links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.  Fans can also track the game's progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.
 
NKU improved to 16-12 overall and 7-6 in the Atlantic Sun with a 68-61 victory over Kennesaw State in The Bank of Kentucky Center on Thursday evening.  Kelley Wiegman poured in a season-high 17 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the floor, including a 3-for-4 effort from long range, and she was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.  Melody Doss added 15 points and five rebounds, while Christine Roush finished with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting.  Kasey Uetrecht pulled down a team-high six boards to lead NKU's effort on the glass.
 
The Norse trailed the Owls, 27-23, at the halftime break but scored the first five points of the second half to take a 28-27 lead with just under 19 minutes to play.  The two teams traded points over the next several minutes before NKU used an 8-2 run to take a 55-48 lead with 5:44 to go.  The Norse eventually stretched their advantage to 10 (60-50) with 3:23 on the clock and held on for the win.
 
ABOUT USC UPSTATE: The Spartans are 14-14 on the year and 6-7 in the Atlantic Sun after claiming a 76-67 victory at Lipscomb in Nashville, Tennessee, Thursday night.  USC Upstate placed four players in double figures, led by Brittany Starling's double-double.  Starling finished with 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Brittany Clency added 17 points and five assists.  Raven Jefferson chipped in 15 points for the Spartans, and Sharmayne Edwards rounded out the double-digit scorers with a 12-point performance.
 
Edwards averages 13.4 points per game to lead USC Upstate's offensive efforts.  Starling, who is shooting 52.0 percent (131-for-252) from the floor, adds 12.4 points and a team-leading 9.0 rebounds per contest.  Clency has dished out 74 assists to go with her 9.6 scoring average for the Spartans.  Travonda Haddock has blocked 26 shots, and Jefferson tops the team with 36 steals.
 
Head coach Tammy George is 129-155 in her 10th season with the Spartans.  Last year, she guided the Spartans to a 17-15 overall record and an 11-7 in mark in the Atlantic Sun, earning a berth into the Women's Basketball Invitational.  Prior to taking the helm at USC Upstate, she spent two seasons with Brevard College, where she posted a 43-21 mark.  Over her 12 seasons leading collegiate teams, George is 172-176.
 
NKU-USC UPSTATE SERIES: NKU holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series with USC Upstate after defeating the Spartans, 77-74, in The Bank of Kentucky Center on Jan. 17.  The Norse opened the home portion of their first Atlantic Sun season with a 70-62 victory over the Spartans before completing the season sweep with an 81-61 win in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in their inaugural NCAA Division I season in 2012-13.  One year ago, NKU began its conference slate by defeating USC Upstate, 76-60, and the Norse later posted a 71-58 victory in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST USC UPSTATE: NKU placed five players in double-digits to lift the Norse to a 77-74 victory over USC Upstate to open the home portion of its Atlantic Sun schedule on Jan. 17 at The Bank of Kentucky Center.
 
Rianna Gayheart paced the NKU offense with 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the floor and four assists, and she collected two rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot.  Christine Roush finished with 12 points, three assists and two steals, while Kelley Wiegman, Melody Doss and Kasey Uetrecht each added 10 points for the Norse.
 
Wiegman knocked down a floating jumper that just beat the buzzer to give NKU a 44-41 lead at the half, but USC Upstate outscored the Norse, 13-5, over the first six minutes of the second stanza to take a 54-49 lead.  A 3-pointer from Doss and put-back basket by Gayheart tied the game at 54-all just over a minute later. 
 
The Spartans pushed their lead back out to 70-67, and a conventional 3-point play from Mikayla Terry tied the game once more with 5:43 on the clock.  Both teams knocked down shots from long range before a Mar'Lisa Braxton free throw gave USC Upstate its last lead of the game at 74-73 with 3:33 remaining in the game.  Back-to-back layups from Gayheart and Terry sealed the victory for NKU, which held the Spartans scoreless the rest of the way and held off a fury of 3-point attempts in the final USC Upstate possession.
 
Brittany Starling led USC Upstate with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. Brittany Clency finished with 18 points and eight boards, while Braxton added 12 points and three rebounds for the Spartans, who shot just 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from the free-throw line.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: With its 68-61 victory over Kennesaw State on Thursday, NKU clinched one of the top four seeds in the upcoming Atlantic Sun tournament, which is scheduled to begin March 6 on campus sites.  The Norse will enter the tournament as either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed, based on the results of Saturday's action. 
 
Florida Gulf Coast, which cracked the national 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 13-0 conference mark, while Stetson will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed.  NKU currently sits alone in the No. 3 spot, but USC Upstate and Jacksonville are just behind the Norse at 6-7 in conference action.  Kennesaw State follows with a 5-8 mark in the Atlantic Sun after falling to NKU on Thursday.
 
For more information pertaining to NKU's first-round home contest, please visit http://www.nkunorse.com/postseason.
 
KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE: Thursday night's victory over Kennesaw State secured NKU's 32nd-consecutive winning season, bringing the Norse record to 16-12 overall.  The Norse finished their inaugural season competing at the NCAA Division I level with a 15-13 overall record in 2012-13 and continued the streak with a 57-44 victory over North Florida at The Bank of Kentucky Center in the final week of conference action.  Last season, NKU posted a 61-57 win over Lipscomb to secure a winning season and finished 18-13 on the year.
 
This marks the 41st season of competition for the Norse women's basketball program. NKU is 858-345 (.713) all-time since beginning play during the 1974-75 season and are 49-38 (.563) as an NCAA Division I program.
 
ON THE BOARDS: NKU is 9-2 this season when out-rebounding its opponents after winning the battle on the boards against Kennesaw State by a 33-28 margin.  The Norse started the season by pulling down 11 more rebounds (46-35) in a 76-55 victory over Delaware State on Nov. 14 before dropping a 77-38 decision to Ohio despite out-rebounding the Bobcats by a 41-33 margin.  NKU grabbed more rebounds than each of its two opponents in the Navy Classic, topping both Grand Canyon (35-28) and UNC Greensboro (41-39).
 
The Norse also earned victories when they out-rebounded Marquette (42-40) on Dec. 15, Lipscomb (39-31) on Jan. 10, Stetson (38-37) on Jan. 29, Lipscomb (38-31) on Feb. 7 and North Florida (46-35) on Feb. 21.  Wright State defeated NKU on Jan. 3 despite losing the rebounding battle, 49-45.
 
MOVING ON UP: Melody Doss scored 15 points against Kennesaw State on Thursday, moving her to 1,094 career points to surpass current NKU assistant coach Karmen Graham (2003-07), who was 22nd on the all-time scorers list with 1,088 points for the Norse.  She needs just 17 more points to pass Clare Lester (1981-85) and Nancy Dickman (1980-85), who each finished their NKU careers with 1,110 total points.
 
The senior forward from Greenwood, Indiana, averages a team-leading 13.8 points per game, which ranks fifth in the Atlantic Sun, and is pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game.  She is shooting 41.2 percent (142-for-345) from the field and connecting on 80.6 percent (58-for-72) of her attempts from the free-throw line.  Doss has dished out 31 assists, blocked 20 shots and collected 20 steals in her final season in the Black and Gold.