HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball opens up Horizon League play on the road, heading to preseason favorite Green Bay on Saturday, Dec. 28. Tip-off against the Phoenix is set for 1 p.m. CT/2 ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse had four score in double digits for the second-straight game as Northern Kentucky downed Wofford in the nonconference finale, 80-72. NKU shot 51.8 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, led by
Ally Niece's 20-point performance.
Carissa Garcia added 17 points and
Molly Glick chipped in 16 as Northern Kentucky had three Norse score at least 15 points in the same contest for the first time since Dec. 30, 2017.
Kailey Coffey also reached double digits with 11 points and was just off a double-double with nine rebounds, while
Emmy Souder led the Norse on the boards with 10 rebounds.
A TALE OF TWO PRESEASONS: Northern Kentucky posted a winning nonconference record at 6-5, winning six of the last seven contests after dropping the first four games of the season. The Norse showed drastic differences between the first four games of the year and the last seven, with the only setback in the latter span being to then-No. 2/2 Louisville. The most impactful improvement was Northern Kentucky's offensive power. NKU went from a -12.7 scoring margin, scoring 54.5 points per game in the first four games, to a +5.7 margin and 67.0 ppg in the last seven. NKU can thank its field-goal efficiency for that jump as the Norse shot up from 31.4 percent in the first four games to 41.6 percent in the last seven, including an improvement from 22.1 percent to 37.6 percent from beyond the arc.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS: Ivy Turner has been making an immediate impact in her rookie campaign, starting in all 11 contests for the Norse. The Danville, Kentucky, native is third on the team in scoring with 9.3 points per game, and is doing so at 41.0 percent from the floor. Turner also averages 2.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. On Dec. 2, she was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week after helping the Norse record three victories over the course of the past week. Turner had double-digit scoring efforts in all three contests, averaging 12.7 ppg at 55.0 percent from the floor. She also added 5.3 rpg and dished out five assists while nabbing three steals in wins over Central Arkansas, Jacksonville State and FIU.
Garcia has also been an integral part of NKU's offense, averaging 8.1 ppg to sit just behind Turner. The rookie guard was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week on Dec. 9 following her performance against No. 2/2 Louisville, in which she led the team with 13 points and five assists.
MILESTONE TRACKER: On Dec. 1, Glick was sent to the free throw line following a technical foul called on Florida International. Making both shots gave the redshirt-senior her 1,000th career point, making her the 30th Norse to hit the milestone in program history. Glick is also just the second player to score 1,000 points in the Division I era. Christine Roush was the first fully D-I player to hit 1,000 career points, as she finished her 2012-16 career with 1,439 points. Melody Doss (2011-15) also reached 1,154 points in her career, but played her freshman campaign in the Division II era.
Glick also has 176 career 3-pointers, overtaking Michele Tuchfarber (1997-2001) for third on NKU's all-time career 3-pointers list. She has made at least two 3-pointers in the last 10 outings.
SCOUTING GREEN BAY: The Phoenix were one of two teams favored to win the Horizon League in the preseason poll, but struggled in the nonconference and enter league play on a four-game losing streak. Green Bay upended then No. 18/16 Syracuse, which is no longer receiving votes in either poll, on Nov. 30 before falling to then-No. 16/15 DePaul, Maine, Marist and South Dakota State to close out its nonconference season. Nonetheless, the Phoenix still boast multiple statistics that rank in the top-100 nationally. As a team, Green Bay is one of the best in the nation at protecting the ball as the Phoenix rank eighth with just 12.2 turnovers per game. Coupled with being 62nd-best in assists per game (15.7), Green Bay holds a 1.29 assist-to-turnover ratio, good for 17th nationally. Lyndsey Robson runs the Phoenix offense, dishing out 3.4 assists per game, and holds a 1.95 assist-to-turnover ratio to lead the Horizon League and rank 82nd nationally. Senior Frankie Wurtz has been having a stellar capstone campaign, leading the Phoenix in scoring (16.2 ppg) and steals (22) while ranking second on the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and third in assists (23). Caitlyn Hibner is second on the team in scoring with 13.1 ppg and paces the Phoenix on the boards with 6.1 rpg.
Green Bay holds a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Norse, which began when Northern Kentucky joined the Horizon League in the 2015-16 season.
