HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball hits the road for the final road swing of the season, starting with a Friday night tip-off against UIC at 4 p.m. CT/ 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.

LAST TIME OUT: NKU dropped a heartbreaker on Monday night, falling by one point to Youngstown State, 60-59. Mikayla Terry had a superb performance on her senior night, leading the Norse with 14 points while pulling down five rebounds, dishing out four assists with no turnovers, and adding a block and a steal. Jazmyne Geist also registered double digits, while Grayson Rose had a dominating defensive game down low with a career-high five blocks to go with a team-high six rebounds.
 
SCOUTING UIC: The Flames have not picked up a win in the first 16 games of Horizon League play, but despite their record, have one of the top scoring tandems in the league. Brittany Byrd averages 14.9 points per game for UIC, followed closely by Taylor Toney with 13.5 ppg, both ranking among the league's top-10 scorers.  Toney also contributes heavily on the defensive end, ranking fourth in the league with 2.3 steals per game.
  
As would be expected, UIC ranks in the bottom half of the Horizon League standings in most statistical categories, but the Flames have brought gritty defense to their games and rank fifth in the league with 8.90 steals per game. NKU has gone 4-1 in the all-time series with the Flames, which dates back to the 2015-16 season when the Norse joined the Horizon League. The lone loss was during last year's postseason, when UIC bounced NKU from the Horizon League Tournament on March 3, 2017, in a 72-60 first-round matchup. This year, the Flames gave NKU a scare on Jan. 21, when UIC came out hot and led for the majority of the contest before NKU overcame a 19-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to win in overtime, 61-53.
 
POSTSEASON SEEDING: Heading into this weekend, NKU and Oakland are jockeying for the seventh seed in the Horizon League Championship with 6-10 records. The No. 9 and 10 seed have been clinched by Detroit Mercy and UIC, respectively, and neither the Norse nor the Golden Grizzlies could jump Youngstown State's 10-7 mark. NKU is guaranteed to play on the first day of the tournament on Friday, March 2, but there are several scenarios that could play out to determine whether the Norse will face the No. 9 Titans or No. 10 Flames in the first round. The Norse will play UIC and IUPUI this weekend, while Oakland will face Green Bay and Milwaukee.
   -If both teams go 2-0, since NKU and Oakland split the regular season, the tiebreak would go to whomever notched a win over the highest seeded team. In this scenario, both teams would have beaten Green Bay, but NKU would be the only of the two to defeat IUPUI, and the Norse would hold the No. 7 seed.
   -If NKU goes 2-0 and Oakland loses one or both of their games, NKU is the No. 7 seed.
   -If both teams go 1-1, there are multiple scenarios based on the outcome of the wins. For example, if NKU beats UIC but falls to IUPUI and Oakland defeats Green Bay and falls to Milwaukee, Oakland's win over Youngstown State would give them the No. 7 seed since YSU took the series with NKU. However, should Oakland's win come against Milwaukee or NKU's win come against IUPUI while the Golden Grizzlies find their win against the Phoenix, the Norse would have the upper hand based on victories against either Green Bay or IUPUI.
   -If NKU goes 1-1 and Oakland goes 2-0, NKU receives the No. 8 seed.
   -If NKU goes 1-1 and Oakland goes 0-2, NKU receives the No. 7 seed.
   -If both teams go 0-2, NKU receives the No. 7 seed due to its win over Green Bay.
   -If NKU goes 0-2 and Oakland wins one or both games, NKU receives the No. 8 seed.
 
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 - 6.1 rpg; Grace White - 4.0 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 2.4 offensive boards a game Since entering League play, Coffey has been averaging 9.4 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.