HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball takes its first road trip of the season this weekend when it heads to Kent, Ohio, for the Kent State Classic. The Norse will take on a pair of Mid-American Conference opponents, starting with host Kent State at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 17, followed by Akron at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18. Saturday's contest against the Golden Flashes will be carried on ESPN3 and there will be a live video stream of the Akron game provided by Kent State. The field is made up of two MAC teams and two from the Horizon League, with Oakland also taking on Kent State and Akron.
LAST TIME OUT: NKU opened up the season with a 41-point win, 73-32, over Alderson Broaddus on Nov. 7.
Molly Glick led the Norse in scoring with 13 points while
Ally Niece and
Kennedy Archer also reached double figures in their NKU debuts with 10 points each. NKU's freshman class had an impressive outing, with Niece,
Taylor Clos and
Emmy Souder combining for 27 points as Clos and Souder poured in nine and eight points, respectively.
Jazmyne Geist led the way on the boards with eight rebounds, while Clos and
Grace White dished out four assists apiece. The Norse shot 48.2 percent from the field and held the Battlers to 23.4 percent.
SCOUTING KENT STATE: The Golden Flashes hold an 0-2 record, but opened up the 2018-19 campaign with a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference matchups. Kent State fell to North Carolina, which received votes in the preseason USA Today/Coaches Poll, 73-60, before dropping a 78-61 game to No. 17 NC State. The Golden Flashes were predicted to finish fourth in the MAC despite losing their only All-MAC performer to graduation. This season, redshirt-junior guard Megan Carter has been leading the Golden Flashes in scoring through two games with 19.5 points, while also dishing out a team-high six assists and ranking second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game. Asiah Dingle has had a solid start to her rookie campaign with 11.0 points per game, and Lindsey Thall and Hannah Young are just off double-digit scoring with 8.5 and 8.0 points per game, respectively.
As a team, Kent State shot a respectable 34.5 percent from the floor against formidable opponents and was only outrebounded by a margin of 5.5 boards per game. However, the Golden Flashes allowed their opponents to shoot 39.2 percent from long range and were subject to 11 blocks in two contests.
NKU and Kent State have only met on the hardwood twice in the history of the two programs, with the Golden Flashes taking both meetings. Last year, NKU opened up the regular season at home against Kent State and took a slim 59-54 loss at BB&T Arena.
SCOUTING AKRON: Akron was tabbed to finish sixth in the MAC preseason poll. The Zips are 1-0 under first-year head coach Melissa Jackson after defeating North Carolina A&T in a low-scoring affair on Nov. 13, 49-36. The Zips should not face a long period of adjustment with Jackson at the helm as she previously spent 10 years on the Akron bench, and the team returns eight veterans from the 2017-18 season. In the game against the Aggies, Akron's lone senior Megan Sefick led the team in scoring with 18 points to go with five rebounds and five steals. Junior forward Haliegh Reinoehl also reached double figures with 13 points, along with five rebounds. The Zips committed 21 turnovers, but also nabbed 15 steals against the Aggies. Akron's offense relied heavily on its outside shots as the Zips took more than half of their attempts from 3-point range, sinking nine at 33.3 percent.
Akron holds a 2-1 advantage in the short all-time series. NKU's only win was in the series opener in the 1982-83 campaign when the Norse took the Zips down in overtime, 89-84. The last contest between the two squads also went to overtime, with Akron posting a 77-75 victory in Highland Heights on Dec. 19, 2015.
