HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball hosts Youngstown State in the penultimate home game of the regular season on Friday, Feb. 22. Tip-off against the Penguins is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
GAME DAY PROMOS: Friday will serve as "The Office Night." Fans presenting a business card to the box office will receive a $3 ticket, and the first half will include multiple promotions inspired by the hit television series, "The Office."
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse fell on the road to league-leading Wright State in a 78-56 decision last Saturday. Molly Glick and Ally Niece both led the Norse in scoring with 13 points apiece, and Glick moved into NKU's all-time top-five for career made 3-pointers. With three triples against the Raiders, Glick now has 136 career 3-pointers and is tied for fourth all-time with Lori McClellan (1989-93). She needs 23 more triples to tie Michele Tuchfarber's third-ranking mark of 159 3-pointers, made between 1997-01.
 
SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE: The Penguins are one game behind Wright State in the Horizon League standings with a 12-3 mark. Youngstown State had an uncharacteristically low offensive performance at IUPUI, losing 64-44 to the Jaguars, and have since won by a margin of +18.3 points over their last three opponents. In league play, the Penguins average a league-leading 71.9 points per game and rank third in scoring defense, keeping opponents to 56.7 ppg. Youngstown State is the most efficient team in the league, averaging .440 from the floor and .354 from 3-point range. Shooting from long range has been a staple of the Penguins' offense all season, as Youngstown State ranks 26th in the nation with 8.6 made triples per contest. The Penguins also rank well nationally in assists per game (16.0, 41st), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.16, 35th) and play clean defense with 13.3 fouls per game, good for eighth nationally.
  
Mary Dunn has been leading the Penguins' offense in league play with 15.0 points per game, shooting .620 from the field to lead the league in the latter category. Alison Smolinski adds 13.1 ppg, with 51 of her 65 made field goals coming from beyond the arc. Smolinski ranks fifth nationally in total 3-pointers made (89) and is converting them at 38.3 percent in league action. Sarah Cash and Chelsea Olson also contribute double digits to the Penguins' scoring effort at 12.6 and 11.1 ppg, respectively.
 
Youngstown State holds a slight 5-4 advantage in the all-time series, and the Penguins are on a four-game winning streak against the Norse. In the last meeting, YSU used a fourth-quarter surge to claim a 77-66 win over NKU.