HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball will play its last home contest of the 2016 calendar year this Saturday, Dec. 10, hosting in-state foe Murray State for a 1 p.m. tipoff. The game against the Racers will be carried on the ESPN3 platform with Andrew Kappes on the call for the Norse and Brandon Cole as analyst. Fans can stream the game live on WatchESPN or the ESPN App.
 
LAST TIME OUT: NKU squared off with Indiana on Thursday night, where the fast-paced Hoosiers proved too much for the Norse in a 100-49 setback. Redshirt-senior Rebecca Lyttle led the Norse in scoring with a season-high 12 points while freshman forward Hayley Combs had a career game with 10 points off 4-of-6 shooting from the field. The team also recorded a season low in turnovers with 12, but were outmanned in the paint where the Hoosiers scored 60 of their points.
 
HOME SUPPORT: Northern Kentucky currently ranks 56th in the nation and first in the Horizon League in average attendance for home games. When playing at BB&T Arena, the Norse have pulled an average of 2,273 fans per game for a total of 9,092 throughout the four home contests. The most attended game of the year thus far was the Nov. 30 tilt against Stetson, which drew a crowd of 5,332. That number ranks fourth in BB&T Arena history for an NCAA basketball game.
 
SCOUTING MURRAY STATE: The Racers come into BB&T Arena on Saturday sporting a 4-4 record, but have yet to win a game on the road this year. Murray State and NKU have faced two common opponents this season, falling to both Ohio, 79-70, and ETSU, 79-60. The Norse also suffered a setback to the Bobcats, but topped former Atlantic Sun opponent ETSU on Nov. 26, 62-56.
 
Murray State has four players currently averaging double-digit scoring figures, led by junior forward Ke'Shuna James with 20.0 points per game, leading the OVC and ranking 28th in the nation, to go with 8.0 rebounds a game. Coupled with Kyra Gulledge, who averages 8.4 rpg, the duo makes up the top rebounding tandem in the OVC. James is also the top assist-giver for the team, averaging 4.3 dishes a game.
 
As a team, the Racers are marked by their rebounding and 3-point shooting. Murray State ranks 37th in the nation in rebounding with 43.75 per game, and falls in the top-30 in 3-pointers a game with 8.5. The Racers are also effective from the charity stripe, leading the OVC and ranking just outside the top-100 nationally with a 74.8 free throw percentage.
 
The Norse have faced the Racers 11 times in the history of the two programs, dating back to the first year of the women's basketball program of Northern Kentucky in 1974-75. The series was halted in the 1980-81 season, with NKU holding the all-time advantage, 9-2. The last time the two teams met was on the road in Murray, where the Norse secured an 83-73 win over the Racers.