HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball begins its final homestand of the regular season on Friday, hosting Horizon League foe Milwaukee at 5 p.m. ET. The game is the first of a doubleheader with the NKU men's team, which hosts UIC at 7:30 p.m. Friday's game will be broadcast on the ESPN3 platform with Rich Hidy on the call and Brady Laber as analyst. Fans can stream the game live on computers, tablets and smart phones through WatchESPN and the ESPN App.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse held strong against the highest-scoring offense in the League on Monday night, but Oakland ultimately slipped away in the final quarter for an 86-66 victory. NKU held the lead for the majority of the first half, falling behind by two points at the half and continued to keep the scoring margin slim as the Norse trailed by just six points at the end of three quarters. An offensive outburst by the Golden Grizzlies saw Oakland post 27 points in the fourth quarter. Redshirt-freshman guard Taryn Taugher had her third-straight game in double figures, leading the Norse with 15 points. Three other Norse scored in double digits for just the fourth time this season, and the team outrebounded the League's top team on the boards, 34-31.
 
SCOUTING MILWAUKEE: The Panthers are riding a four-game winning streak, which includes a tremendous 72-60 victory over Green Bay on Feb. 17 to hand the Phoenix their third loss in League play since 2013. Overall, Milwaukee is tied for third in the Horizon League with an 11-5 record, but can at best finish tied for second after the season concludes this weekend.
  
The Panthers sit among the League's best in multiple statistical categories, but are the most successful from long range with the best 3-point percentage in the League and rank 39th in the nation at a .355 clip. Milwaukee is also efficient from the entire field, shooting 44.1 percent in the nation to rank second in the League and 37th in the nation, while also ranking 10th nationally from the charity stripe with a .775 free throw percentage.
  
Individually, Milwaukee's most productive player is junior center Steph Kostowicz, who averages 15.4 points per game at a .537 clip. Kostowicz also grabs 8.0 rebounds and swats 1.2 shots per game, ranking among the League's top 10 in those categories. From 3-point range, the Panthers look to Alexis Lindstrom, who averages 2.11 triples a contest at 41.0 percent.
  
NKU and Milwaukee have faced off three times in the history of the two programs, with the Panthers claiming victories in all three. The Norse last squared off with Milwaukee on New Year's Eve, when the Panthers claimed a 72-44 victory.
 
HOME SUPPORT: Northern Kentucky currently ranks 97th in the nation and third in the Horizon League in average attendance for home games. When playing at BB&T Arena, the Norse have pulled an average of 1,588 fans per game for a total of 19,052 throughout the 12 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.