HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball travels South to take on Tennessee Tech to kick off the month of December. The Norse will take on the Golden Eagles on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET, with streaming available through the OVC Digital Network.
LAST TIME OUT: NKU held with former Atlantic Sun foe Stetson in its last outing, but a more efficient second half by the Hatters powered Stetson to a 54-45 victory inside BB&T Arena. Junior forward
Kasey Uetrecht led the way in scoring with 16 points, posting 15 points or more in her second consecutive game. The Norse also saw a balanced stat line from redshirt-senior
Rebecca Lyttle, who poured in 10 points and led the team in rebounds (9), assists (3), blocks (3) and steals (2). NKU also celebrated a widely successful first annual Victor's Hoops 4 Health, which drew a crowd of 5,332 with more than 4,000 children from local schools.
NKU VS. THE NATION: With the team easing into its new system under Coach Whitaker, the Norse have already shown strong numbers in a handful of national statistical categories. Most impressively, NKU has been showing disruptive defense at the 3-point line, holding teams to 24.1 percent from long range for the 22nd-best 3-point field goal defense percentage among NCAA Division I teams. NKU also ranks in the top-50 in scoring defense, holding teams to just 55.3 points per game for the No. 37 scoring defense in the country. Additionally, the Norse are doing so while playing a clean game as the team ranks 25th in the country in fewest fouls per game at 14.2.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: The Golden Eagles are off to a similar start as the Norse, sporting a 2-6 record entering Sunday's game, with wins over Tennessee Wesleyan (54-41) and Winthrop (73-50). TTU is led in scoring by Yaktavia Hickson, who is the only Golden Eagle averaging double digits at 14.4 points per game. Treyvonna Brooks leads the team on the boards with 6.5 rebounds per game to go with 9.6 ppg, and has also recorded 10 blocks to lead the team this year.
As a unit, Tennessee Tech is putting up averages much like the Norse, averaging 56.4 ppg while shooting .344 from the field and .271 from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles rank in the top-75 of NCAA Division I institutions in assists (105), blocked shots (32) and steals (66).
The Norse have squared off with Tennessee Tech just twice before in the history of the two programs, once in the 1981-82 season and most recently on Nov. 27, 2015 when NKU earned an 88-62 victory. Sunday will be the first meeting in Cookeville.
