HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University makes its first appearance in the Atlantic Sun Conference championship game in its first season eligible on Sunday, facing top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast University in Alico Arena.
 
Tipoff from Fort Myers, Florida, is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.  Links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.  Fans can keep an eye on the title game's progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter as well.
 
NKU moved to 19-12 overall with a 53-52 victory at Stetson in the Atlantic Sun semifinals on Wednesday evening.  Molly Franson scored a career-high 14 points, including a pair of game-winning free throws, and pulled down a personal-best nine rebounds to lead the way for the Norse, while Melody Doss added 14 points, seven rebounds and blocked two shots.  Christine Roush added eight points and eight rebounds, while Kelley Wiegman dished out a game-high four assists.
 
A 3-pointer by Melody Doss gave the Norse lead at 45-44 with just under eight minutes to play, and Jama Sharp tied the game at 45-all with a free throw at the 6:04 mark.  Four points from Franson sandwiched a Sharp layup to give NKU a 49-47 edge with 4:22 on the clock.
 
Aisha Turner knocked down a pair of free throws before Franson knocked down a jumper from just inside the paint for a two-point (51-49) Norse advantage.  A conventional 3-point play by Myeisha Hall put the Hatters back on top, 52-51, setting the stage for Franson's game-winning free throws with 15 seconds left.
 
Stetson called a timeout to set up one last play, but Sharp's layup missed the mark and C.J. Coddington was swarmed by the Norse defense on the rebound, unable to get one last shot off.
 
ABOUT FGCU: The Eagles, who are ranked No. 20 in the latest Associated Press poll, are 29-2 on the year and have won their last 24 contests.  FGCU handed Jacksonville a 62-42 loss in its semifinal matchup, sending the Eagles to their fourth-straight title game.  Jenna Cobb poured in 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting and collected four steals to lead FGCU, while Kaniesha Atwater and Taylor Gradinjan each added 11 points.
 
Whitney Knight, the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, averages 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game to lead the Eagles, and she is ninth in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage, knocking down 43.1 percent of her attempts from long range.  Atwater, a first-team all-conference honoree, added 14.0 points and 2.1 assists per contest, while DyTiesha Dunson dishes out a team-high 3.5 assists per game to go with 5.8 points.
 
As a team, FGCU is holding its opponents to 53.2 points per contest, which is the 11th lowest in the country.  The Eagles average 9.3 treys to rank third nationally, and they have the eighth best 3-point defense, limiting the other team to just 26.3 percent from behind the arc.
 
NKU-FGCU SERIES: Florida Gulf Coast took a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series against NKU after claiming a 75-47 victory over the Norse in Alico Arena on Feb. 12.  Two weeks prior, the Eagles posted a 67-46 win over NKU in The Bank of Kentucky Center. 
 
The Eagles swept the series meetings during NKU's inaugural NCAA Division I season, defeating the Norse, 79-50, in Fort Myers, Florida, before taking a 68-53 victory in The Bank of Kentucky Center.  NKU handed FGCU a 63-43 loss on Feb. 1, 2014, to snap FGCU's 44-game regular-season Atlantic Sun winning streak at The Bank of Kentucky Center.  The Eagles avenged the loss at home one month later with a 67-53 win in Alico Arena.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST FGCU: Whitney Knight scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead FGCU to a 75-47 victory over NKU on Feb. 12 in Fort Myers, Florida. Knight went 7-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc to pace four double-figure scorers for FGCU.  Kaneisha Atwater and Stephanie Haas each finished with 13 points, while Taylor Gradinjan added 10 points and four rebounds for the Eagles.
 
NKU started the game hot from long range as the Norse knocked down their first three 3-pointers of the game, including two from Melody Doss, for an 11-7 lead with 16:27 left in the first half.  FGCU, however, responded with a 13-2 run, capped by a Knight trey, and forced four NKU turnovers over the next 5:25 to take a 20-13 advantage with just under 11 minutes on the clock.
 
The Norse cut into their deficit with Doss' third 3-pointer of the game to bring NKU to within 20-16 on the other end of the court.  The Eagles then put together a 20-3 spurt, led by eight points from Knight, to extend their lead to 40-19 with just over two minutes remaining in the opening stanza, and FGCU held the double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
 
Doss paced NKU with 13 points and four rebounds, and she went 3-for-5 from long range.  Courtney Roush added a career-high six points and connected on each of the two attempts she took from the floor, and Molly Franson finished with six points and a team-high six rebounds for the Norse, who went 14-for-46 (.326) from the floor overall.
 
FGCU finished with a 36-32 edge on the boards and shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) from the floor for the night.  The Eagles drained 12 treys and went 13-for-15 from the free-throw line.
 
DEFENSE STRONG: NKU brings a five-game winning streak into Sunday's championship game in large part due to its strong defensive pressure.  The Norse have held their last five opponents to 61 points or less, giving up just 49.4 points per game.  On Feb. 21, NKU limited North Florida to just 29 points, which set a new NCAA Division I mark for the program, to start its current streak.  Stetson, which entered the semifinals averaging 82.9 points over its previous seven games, was held to just 52 points by the Norse on Wednesday.
 
This season NKU is 14-1 when holding the other team to 60 points or below.  The lone Norse loss when limiting their opponents under 60 came on Nov. 22 when Loyola (Chicago) posted a 45-38 win in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
 
FREE THROWS MATTER: NKU went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, including four from Molly Franson, in its 53-52 semifinals victory over Stetson.  With the Hatters holding a 52-51 advantage on a conventional three-point play, Franson drew a foul and connected on two attempts from the charity stripe to give the Norse the lead and the win.
 
As a team, NKU would rank 15th nationally in free-throw shooting at 76.8 percent if the Norse were eligible to be included in the NCAA statistics as a reclassifying institution.   Christine Roush leads the Atlantic Sun, connecting on 87.6 percent of her attempts from the charity stripe, and would land 16th nationally.  Kelley Wiegman is shooting 85.0 percent from the line and would also be among the top 40.
 
ATTACKING THE GLASS: NKU and Stetson each pulled down 44 rebounds on Wednesday evening.  The Norse grabbed 13 offensive boards against the Hatters and scored 12 second-half points off their created opportunities.
 
During NKU's five-game winning streak, the Norse out-rebounded their four opponents prior to the semifinals matchup.  NKU pulled down 24 more rebounds (49-25) than USC Upstate on Feb. 28 to close its regular-season schedule.
 
NO. 3 SEEDS: NKU is the first No. 3 seed to advance to the Atlantic Sun championship game since the 2006-07 season when East Tennessee State dropped a 69-57 decision to top-seeded Belmont.  The last 3-seed to capture the tournament title was Stetson when the Hatters topped No. 4 Georgia Southern, 72-65, on March 4, 1989.
 
FRESHMEN IMPACT: A pair of freshmen set new career marks and helped advance NKU to the Atlantic Sun championship game on Wednesday.  Molly Franson scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, which were both career highs.  The Tinley Park, Illinois, native finished 5-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, and she also blocked one shot.
 
Mikayla Terry dished out a career-high three assists for the Norse.  The Lansing, Michigan, native also pulled down four rebounds, including one offensive board, and collected one steal as well. 
 
POSTSEASON HOPES: NKU hopes to make its third straight appearance in a postseason tournament.  The Norse earned a berth to the Women's Basketball Invitational in each of the last two seasons, and NKU defeated McNeese State, 84-72, for the school's first-ever Division I postseason victory.
 
The Norse enter the Atlantic Sun title game 138th in the NCAA RPI rankings and 120th in the Warren Nolan standings.  NKU boasts two victories over Stetson, who is 50th in the NCAA RPI, including one victory in DeLand, Florida. The Eagles enter 16th in the NCAA RPI and 17th according to Warren Nolan.