HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball kicks off a five-game homestand at BB&T Arena on Friday, Jan. 17, hosting nearby rival and preseason Horizon League favorite Wright State at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the first 500 fans to the game will receive a #NorseUp foam finger.
LAST TIME OUT: NKU dominated on the road in an 88-46 victory over UIC, marking a season high in scoring output for the Norse. Four players reached double figures, led by
Taylor Clos with 19 and
Kailey Coffey with 18, marking the third time in the past four games that two Norse have scored at least 15 points in a single game.
Emmy Souder added 14 points while
Grayson Rose had her second career double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds to go with five steals, three blocks and two assists. As a team, NKU's disruptive defense forced UIC into 24 turnovers that were in turn converted into 36 points. The Norse also shared the ball extremely well, with 22 assists on 31 field goals.
NORSE VS THE HORIZON LEAGUE: Since entering Horizon League play, the Norse find themselves among the top of the league in several statistical categories. NKU has been crashing the boards hard through six games, ranking third with a +5.17 rebounding margin. NKU also sits at third in blocked shots per game (3.3) and fourth in free-throw percentage (.769). Individually, Rose leads the league with 2.0 blocked shots per game, and
Ally Niece checks in at second with 4.2 assists per game. Both Coffey and Rose rank in the top-10 in rebounding, while Clos and Souder are tied for 10th in scoring with 12.2 points per game.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS: Ivy Turner has been making an immediate impact in her rookie campaign, starting in all 17 contests for the Norse. The Danville, Kentucky, native is fourth on the team in scoring with 8.5 points per game, and is doing so at 39.7 percent from the floor. Turner also averages 2.2 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. Turner was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week for the second time this season after averaging 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game against UIC and IUPUI.
Earlier on Dec. 2, she earned her first weekly distinction after helping the Norse record three victories over Central Arkansas, Jacksonville State and FIU. Turner had double-digit scoring efforts in each game, 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.
Carissa Garcia was also 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 184 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 12 of NKU's 17 contests.
SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE: The reigning Horizon League champions were one of two teams picked to finish first in the league in the preseason poll, but the Raiders currently sit in second behind IUPUI with a 4-2 record. Wright State relies heavily on sophomore Angel Baker, who averages 16.3 points in 34.1 minutes per game. Michal Miller also averages double digits for the Raiders at 13.0 ppg. On the season, the Raiders have averaged 66.7 ppg, shooting 40.1 percent from the field while holding opponents to 63.5 ppg and 38.3 percent from the floor. Wright State is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, averaging 42.7 rebounds per game for a +7.5 rebounding margin, improving upon those numbers even more in league play with 44.7 rpg for a +11.7 margin. Additionally, the Raiders rank 16th nationally with 15.9 offensive boards per game. WSU also has presence down low and leads league play with 4.5 blocked shots per game. Tyler Frierson leads Wright State in both rebounding and blocked shots with 8.4 rpg and 27 blocks on the season.
Northern Kentucky holds a 12-10 lead in the all-time series, but Wright State has won every meeting since NKU's transition to Division I. In the most recent meeting, Wright State claimed a 78-56 win in Dayton, Ohio, on Feb. 16, 2019.
