HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball hosts Youngstown State in the final home game of the 2017-18 season on Monday, Feb. 19 with tip-off slated for 5 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with streaming available on computers, tablets, smart phones and streaming devices through WatchESPN and the ESPN App.
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS: With Monday being the final home contest of the season, the Norse will celebrate lone senior
Mikayla Terry during Senior Night festivities. Terry will be honored at the 12:00 minute mark during warmups. The game is also the front end of a doubleheader with the NKU's men's team, which will also honor its seniors against Youngstown State.
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse saw a three-game winning streak come to a close at Wright State, which defeated NKU 73-60 on its home court Saturday afternoon.
Taryn Taugher led the Norse in scoring with 15 points, while
Molly Glick and
Grace White were just off double-figure scoring with nine points apiece. Despite the setback, NKU shot above 40.0 percent from the field, and has done so for the past four games.
SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE: After starting out the Horizon League slowly, Youngstown State has won seven of its last nine games with the only losses in that span coming against Green Bay and Wright State. The Penguins had some marquee wins, taking down IUPUI on the road by three points and overcoming Milwaukee in overtime on Thursday evening. Sarah Cash leads the Penguins in scoring with 11.3 points per game and 11.9 ppg against League opponents. She is the only Penguin in double digits for the regular season, but freshman Chelsea Olson and senior Indiya Benjamin have seen their numbers swell since entering the Horizon League slate and are averaging 10.4 and 10.1 points per game, respectively. Olson, the four-time reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Week, has quickly become a threat from the perimeter, ranking seventh in the League with 1.9 3-pointers per game at a .385 clip, good for fourth among Horizon League players. Benjamin has also been making the most of her final season at YSU, as the League's top assist-giver (5.7 apg) recently broke the program's all-time career assists during the stunning win at IUPUI.
Youngstown State's primary weapon has been its ability to shoot the 3-pointer. The Penguins lead the Horizon League and rank 20th in the nation with 8.6 3-pointers per game, and are second in the League with a 33.8 3-point field goal percentage. Their perimeter ability also translates to the defensive end, as the team ranks third among Horizon League teams in 3-point defense by holding teams to 29.7 percent from beyond the arc.
NKU is 4-3 all-time against the Penguins. Last season, both meetings went to overtime with each team winning on its home court. NKU took the first matchup, 87-81, on Jan. 7 in Highland Heights, while the Penguins reciprocated with a 77-73 overtime win on Feb. 16 in Youngstown, Ohio. This year, the Penguins continued to hold the home court advantage, winning 54-51 on Jan. 25.
ROOKIES IN THE RANKS: NKU has had some key performances from its freshman class, which has come in to contribute right away. Two rookies help lead the team in rebounding (
Kailey Coffey - 6.3 rpg;
Grace White - 4.1 rpg) to keep the Norse at a +2.6 rebounding margin over opponents, a number that ranks fifth in the Horizon League. Coffey has the 12th-highest rebounding average in the Horizon League, and sits at seventh in the League with 2.5 offensive boards a game Since entering League play, Coffey has been averaging 9.5 points per game at a .505 clip, a shooting percentage that ranks among the League's top performers. Both Coffey and White have been honored as the Horizon League Freshman of the Week during the season, making NKU the only institution this year to have two different rookies honored.
