HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball opens up postseason play on Tuesday, March 5, as the Norse head to No. 4 seed IUPUI for the quarterfinals of the 2019 Little Caesars Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship. The Norse earned the No. 5 seed after finishing the league slate at 10-8, marking the program's most wins since joining the Horizon League in the 2015-16 season. Tip-off against the Jaguars is set for 7 p.m. ET in Indianapolis and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT: NKU led by just one point at the half, but the Norse used a 30-14 third quarter to take a sizable lead over Detroit Mercy and finished with an 81-63 victory. It marked the first time this season that NKU had hit the 80-point mark in a game, which was aided by a 50.9 percent performance from the field and a 50.0 percent showing from 3-point range.
Ally Niece led the Norse with a career-high 22 points, career-best eight rebounds, seven assists and career-high three steals.
Grayson Rose notched the first double-double of her career with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while
Kailey Coffey also pulled down 10 boards as the Norse outrebounded the Titans, 42-26.
Taylor Clos and
Molly Glick also added double-figure scoring efforts, with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
HITTING THEIR STRIDE: The Norse enter postseason play on a four-game winning streak, and have shown marked improvement in multiple statistical categories in that span. Of particular note, the Norse are sharing the ball well with 73 assists on 104 made field goals, which is a 70.2 assist rate and up from the 59.2 assist rate that the team had prior to the stretch. In the last four games, NKU also averaged 73.5 ppg and held opponents to 60.8 ppg for a +12.8 scoring margin, outrebounded its last four opponents by a +8.3 margin and committed just 13.5 turnovers per game. The Norse have also been significantly more efficient from the floor, shooting 44.6 percent overall and 41.3 percent from 3-point range, compared to 37.1 percent and 28.6 percent, respectively, prior to the last four contests.
Ally Niece has led the charge during the span, averaging 15.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg and 6.7 apg with a 3.38 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Kailey Coffey has also been instrumental on the boards with 10.0 rebounds per game, while
Molly Glick and
Taylor Clos have both been averaging above 12.5 ppg.
SUPER NIECE: Ally Niece had only been getting better as league play continued, and her impact was repaid after being named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week on Jan. 7 and March 4. Niece most recently earned the distinction after averaging 19.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 7.0 apg in a pair of victories over Oakland and Detroit Mercy. Niece flirted with a triple-double in both outings, finishing the weekend with a career game against the Titans of 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
In her first accolade, Niece averaged 16.0 points and 3.0 assists per game to pace the team against Milwaukee and Green Bay. In addition to her outstanding performance against the Phoenix, Niece added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists in NKU's victory over the Panthers.
Niece led the Norse in the league portion of the schedule, averaging 12.1 ppg and 4.1 apg. Additionally, she pulled down 4.3 rpg, ranking third on the team in the category. She was efficient from the field at a .403 clip, including .397 from 3-point range with 25 made triples.
SCOUTING IUPUI:The Jaguars finished the Horizon League season at 13-5, dropping the head-to-head seeding matchup with Youngstown State to earn the No. 4 seed in the tournament. IUPUI won six of its last seven games, with the only loss being a 45-43 setback to Green Bay on Feb. 28. The Jaguars are led by Preseason Player of the Year Macee Williams, who led the team in the league portion of the schedule with 14.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, ranking third in the Horizon League in both statistics. Katelyn O'Reilly is right behind Williams in both categories, averaging 10.1 ppg and 6.5 rpg.
As a team, IUPUI boasts the 11th-best rebound margin in the nation, pulling down 40.4 rebounds per game while holding opponents to just 31.1 boards per contest. The Jaguars are also 33rd nationally in scoring defense, allowing opponents to post 57.2 points per game. Against league opponents, IUPUI averaged 67.3 ppg and held opponents to 54.4 ppg while also increasing its rebound margin to +11.4.
When the two teams last met on Jan. 31, NKU was able to go head-to-head with the Jaguars on the boards, being edged by just one rebound, 30-29. The Norse came out on top in that meeting, 60-57, with four Norse in double figures. NKU and IUPUI have a rich history together, with NKU dominating the Division II era with a 17-0 record. Since both teams have transitioned to Division I, the Jaguars hold a 4-2 edge over the Norse.
