HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball kicks off the 2018-19 season this Wednesday, Nov. 7, at BB&T Arena. The Norse will host NCAA Division II member Alderson Broaddus for the first contest of the season, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, which can be accessed through the ESPN App. The service costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 for an annual subscription and is available on a range of devices including smart phones, game consoles and streaming devices.
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse gave fans a preview of this year's squad in a 78-38 exhibition win over Pikeville.
Molly Glick led the Norse with 19 points, thanks to a 4-for-8 performance from beyond the arc. NKU also debuted all three of its freshmen, which were led in scoring by
Emmy Souder with 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. The point guard tandem of
Ally Niece and
Taylor Clos dished out four assists each while each grabbing a steal and combining for 14 points.
Kailey Coffey continued her play as a double threat with eight points and eight rebounds, and
Grayson Rose led the team with 11 boards.
NKU kept Pikeville from scoring more than 10 points in each of the four quarters and held the Bears to 29.2 percent from the floor. The Norse also forced 23 turnovers while committing just nine of their own and had seven different players sink a 3-pointer. The team used a 15-0 run in the third quarter to run away with the contest and out-rebounded Pikeville 35-13 in the second half.
SCOUTING ALDERSON BROADDUS: The Battlers enter their first season under head coach Roy Boggess, who brings experience as a head coach at Garrett College before opening up the Coach Bogie Skills Academy in Morgantown, West Virginia. Alderson Broaddus posted a 7-19 record last season, including a 4-18 mark in the Great-Midwest Conference. The team lost its top returning scorer and 3-point shooter, but returns Myriam Garcia and Danielle Franklin for their junior seasons, who both averaged double-figure scoring. Garcia was also the team's leading rebounder with 6.1 boards a game and rejected 2.1 shots per game. At 6-foot-2, the Spanish native adds needed size to a Battler roster with an average height of 5-foot-8.
Last year, the Battlers were outscored by an average of 10.2 points per game, surrendering 72.9 ppg at a 40.7 shooting percentage. Alderson Broaddus also had a -4.4 rebounding margin and committed 19 turnovers per game.
GLICK EARNS PRESEASON NOD: Glick was named to the All-Horizon League Preseason First Team on Oct. 18, marking the first preseason accolades of her career. After sitting out the 2016-17 season to injury, Glick returned to the court in fine form and led the Norse in scoring with 12.4 points per game in 2017-18. Glick also led the Norse in 3-point shooting with 64 made triples, sinking at least three in 12 contests, which put her at sixth on NKU's all-time single-season list. Glick is just eight 3-pointers away from her 100th career 3-pointer and 12 away from cracking NKU's all-time top-10 list.
KEEPING IT YOUTHFUL: Last season, Northern Kentucky had one of the most freshman-laden rosters in NCAA Division I with 58.3 percent of the roster being rookie players, which was good for fourth in the nation. This year, the Norse are still one of the most youthful teams in the nation with an average age of 19.3 years old prior to the start of the 2018-19 campaign. NKU's average age ranks sixth in the nation, behind only UMBC and SMU (19.0), Oklahoma and Georgia Tech (19.1) and Wichita State (19.2). The Norse roster features three freshmen, seven sophomores, two juniors and one senior. (Special thanks to Florida Atlantic's Lillie-Anne Mulligan for compiling the corresponding data).
HOME-GROWN ROOKIES: Coach
Camryn Whitaker worked hard to bring in-state talent to Northern Kentucky, signing three natives of the Bluegrass State on Nov. 8, 2017. The Norse added point guards Clos and Niece, as well as forward Souder for the 2018-19 season. According to Coach Whitaker, all three share the same key characteristics of hard work, high character and understanding what a winning culture looks like.
COFFEY REAPS ROOKIE RECOGNITION: Coffey was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team last year, making her the second Norse since NKU moved to the league to be named among its finest freshmen. In league games, Coffey ranked second on the team in scoring with 8.7 points per game and pulled down a team-high 5.1 rebounds a contest. She also added 24 assists, 19 steals and nine blocks throughout 18 games. Her .505 shooting percentage was not only second among all freshmen, but was fifth among all players in the league. She also ranked 16th among all Horizon League rebounders.
MOTOR CITY MADNESS: The Horizon League announced a format change to the 2019 Horizon League Men's and Women's Basketball Championship. Instead of all 10 institutions receiving a bid to a four-day tournament in Detroit, the tournament will now be comprised of the top-eight seeded teams in the league. The quarterfinals will be played on the campuses of the top-four teams on March 5-6, with the winners advancing to Detroit's Little Caesars Arena for the semifinals and championship game on March 11-12.
NATIONAL EXPOSURE FOR HOME SLATE: All of NKU's home contests will be featured on either ESPN+ or ESPN3. The games will be available for viewing on WatchESPN and the ESPN App, and links will also be made available for the stream prior to the contest.
