HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team begins the second half of its Atlantic Sun Conference schedule with a home contest against Lipscomb on Saturday at The Bank of Kentucky Center.
 
Tipoff for the final game of a three-game homestand is scheduled for 4 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men's game immediately following.  A link for live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast link can be found at NKUNorse.com.  Fans unable to attend the Homecoming celebration can follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for updates as the game progresses as well.
 
NKU dropped to 13-9 overall and 4-3 in the Atlantic Sun after suffering a 67-46 setback to conference leader Florida Gulf Coast one week ago.  Melody Doss led the way for the Norse with a 15-point effort, including 11 in the first half, and she pulled down a team-high six rebounds and blocked one shot.  Doss became the 28th member of NKU's 1,000-point club with a pair of second-half free throws.
 
Christine Roush added nine points, three rebounds and one assist for the Norse, while Shar'Rae Davis finished with six points, five boards, one assist, one blocked shot and one steal.  Rianna Gayheart dished out three assists as Kelley Wiegman scored five points and grabbed four rebounds.
 
ABOUT LIPSCOMB: The Lady Bisons are 8-13 on the year and 3-4 in the Atlantic Sun after dropping an 82-77 thriller to Stetson in Nashville, Tennessee, on Jan. 31.  Danay Fothergill poured in 24 points on 6-for-8 shooting to lead the offense, while Ashley Southern added 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds.  Sara Bliss rounded out the double-figure scorers with an 11-point performance.
 
Southern sets the pace for Lipscomb, averaging a team-high 14.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, which ranks third and fourth, respectively, in the Atlantic Sun.  Fothergill adds 13.3 point for the Lady Bisons, while Bliss is contributing 10.4 points and has collected a team-leading 32 steals.  Emily Eubank has dished out 90 assists for an average of 4.3 to lead the conference in both categories.
 
Head coach Greg Brown is in his third season at Lipscomb, and he went 9-50 in his first two years at the helm.  The Lady Bisons' five nonconference victories this season sets a new high for Lipscomb under Brown's leadership as the team has improved its overall record each year.
 
NKU-LIPSCOMB SERIES: NKU is 5-0 overall against Lipscomb all-time after claiming an 81-70 victory in Allen Arena on Jan. 10 to open conference play earlier this season.  The series began during the 2012-13 season, the first as an NCAA Division I program and Atlantic Sun member, with the Norse taking both decisions by 17 or more points.  One year ago, both contests were much closer.  NKU held on for a 72-65 victory in The Bank of Kentucky Center before fending off a late second-half rally by the Lady Bisons for a 61-57 win in Allen Arena.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST LIPSCOMB: Rianna Gayheart scored a season-high 20 points and pulled down a career-high eight rebounds to lead NKU to an 81-70 victory over Lipscomb in Nashville, Tennessee, on Jan. 10. 
 
Gayheart knocked down a pair of 3-point field goals, dished out a game-high six assists and went 6-for-7 from the free-throw line to lead NKU, while Christine Roush finished with 17 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the floor.  Shar'Rae David added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench.
 
NKU finished with a 39-31 advantage in rebounds and shot 43.1 percent (25-for-58) from the field after going 13-for-29 (.448) in the second half.  The Norse bench outscored Lipscomb's by a 28-13 margin, while they finished with 10 second-chance points to the Lady Bisons' four.
 
Danay Fothergill led the Lipscomb offense, which finished the game shooting 39.0 percent (23-for-59), with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the floor, including a 5-for-10 effort from long range.  Cooper scored 12 points on four 3-pointers, while Sara Bliss added 10 points, three rebounds and three assists for the Lady Bisons, who knocked down 12 treys.  Southern finished with nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
JOINING THE CLUB: Melody Doss successfully connected on two attempts from the free-throw line in the second half against Florida Gulf Coast, giving her 1,000 career points.  She finished the night with 15 points to move her NKU total to 1,002 over her four-year career.  Doss currently sits 28th on the all-time scoring list for the Norse and needs just five more points to move ahead of Jessie Slack (2007-09), who is 27th with 1,006.
 
The senior forward from Greenwood, Indiana, poured in a season-high 24 points against Stetson on Jan 29, and she is averaging 13.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest.  She has connected on 40.6 percent (108-for-266) of her attempts from the floor.  Doss has recorded 22 steals and 18 blocked shots in her final season in the Black and Gold.
 
BEHIND THE ARC: NKU is shooting 36.4 percent (60-for-165) from behind the 3-point line against its Atlantic Sun opponents to rank second in the conference.  The Norse trail just Lipscomb, which is knocking down 39.6 percent (65-for-164) of its long-range attempts. 
 
On the defensive end, the Norse rank third overall, limiting the other team to just 28.4 percent (110-for-387) accuracy from behind the 3-point arc.
 
Christine Roush has drained 21 of her 44 attempts for 47.7 percent from 3-point territory against conference teams, which is second best among Atlantic Sun players.  Lipscomb's Danay Fothergill tops the list at 58.5 percent after connecting on 24-of-41 3-point attempts.
 
LEADING AT THE LINE: NKU continues to lead the Atlantic Sun in free-throw shooting.  The Norse have successfully connected on 76.1 percent (347-for-456) of their attempts from the charity stripe and are followed by Lipscomb's 74.8 percent (237-for-317).  Against conference opponents, NKU has gone 99-for-125 from the free-throw line for 79.2 percent.
 
The Norse boast three of the top four free-throw shooters in Christine Roush, Melody Doss and Kelley Wiegman.  Roush has successfully converted on 91 of her team-leading 103 attempts, shooting at an 88.3 percent accuracy mark, to lead all Atlantic Sun players, while Doss sits in third at 82.1 percent (46-for-56).  Wiegman is shooting 81.7 percent (49-for-60) to land fourth in the league.
 
SATURDAY'S PROMOTIONS: Saturday's game against Lipscomb is part of NKU's Homecoming week celebrations.  Prior to the game, there will be a Norse Force Tailgate party at 1 p.m. in Lot D.  There will be free food, drinks and prizes handed out during the rally.  The crowning of the Homecoming Prince and Princess will take place during halftime.
 
UP NEXT: NKU hits the road for a pair of Atlantic Sun contests next week, starting with a Thursday matchup against Florida Gulf Coast in Alico Arena at 7 p.m. in Fort Myers, Florida.  The Norse will stay in the Sunshine State to take on Stetson in DeLand, Florida, two days later at 1 p.m.  Links to live stats and both video broadcasts are available at NKUNorse.com.