HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball opens the 2020-21 season with a short 10-mile trek into Ohio to face Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (0-0 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
University of Cincinnati Bearcats (0-0 Overall, 0-0 AAC)
Wednesday, Nov. 25 – 6:00 p.m. (ET)
Cincinnati | Fifth Third Arena (12,012)
TV: ESPN+ with Betsy Ross (PxP)
Stats: Live Stats
 

Digital Program


Fast Break Points 
• NKU begins the 2020-21 slate with a short 10-mile trip up the road to play local-foe Cincinnati.
• NKU leads the all-time series 10-9, which includes a 2-2 mark during the DI-era for the Norse. Both teams have held serve on its home court.
• NKU is coming off of its first 20-win season during the DI era. The Norse went 6-5 in the nonconference before posting a 12-6 mark in League play and going 2-1 in its Horizon League Championship semifinals appearance.
• NKU steamrolled both Detroit Mercy and Milwaukee in the opening two rounds of the Horizon League Championship. The Norse held two leads in the final minute, but ultimately fell short off Green Bay by one point in the semifinals.
• The Norse return quite a bit of experience, losing only three players from last year's squad. NKU welcomes back approximately 76 percent of its minutes played and 73 percent of its scoring.
• The Norse were picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Junior guard Ally Niece, who is coming off a sophomore campaign in which she was named to both the all-tournament and all-league second teams, earned a spot on the All-Horizon League Preseason First Team.
• Niece averaged a team-best 13.1 points and 3.7 assists per game last year, and she finished the season with four 20-point outings in the team's final six games.
• Senior forward Kailey Coffey also returns. She has played in 92 games with 91 starts during a Norse career that has also seen her move into 13th all-time at NKU with 669 rebounds.
• Junior forward Emmy Souder started all 32 games as a sophomore. She was third on the team in scoring at 8.8 ppg and second in rebounding at 5.4 rpg.
• Sophomore guard Ivy Turner joined Souder and Molly Glick as the three Norse to start every game. Turner contributed 8.3 ppg for NKU and was second on the team with 66 dimes.
• The Norse also return a fourth top-five scorer from last year's team in sophomore guard Carissa Garcia. Garcia added 7.3 ppg.
• Five newcomers join the squad this season, including Louisville transfer guard Lindsay Duvall as well as freshmen guard Kennedy Igo, center Emma Palmer, center Christyan Reid and guard/wing Ellie Taylor.
 
Last Time Out
Northern Kentucky dropped an exhilarating but heartbreaking affair to Green Bay in the Horizon League Tournament semifinals. Trailing by nine at half, the Norse came out of the gates in the third quarter and cut the deficit to six heading into the final 10 minutes. After NKU cut the lead to one possession, Green Bay rushed back out to a 10-point advantage, 44-34. The Norse responded with an epic 11-point run to take the lead. The teams then traded buckets down the stretch. After the Phoenix went up 48-47 with 19 seconds left, Turner answered with 6.3 ticks remaining only to see Green Bay convert just three seconds later to grab a 50-49 win. Niece led the Norse with 20 points, while Molly Glick and Ivy Turner added 11 and seven, respectively.
 
Scouting Cincinnati
Cincinnati is coming off a 22-10 campaign in which it finished tied for second in the AAC with UCF. The Bearcats lost to UConn in the championship game of the AAC Tournament. IImar'I Thomas, who was a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American last year and is The American Preseason Co-Player of the Year headed into this season, leads the Bearcats after averaging 18.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last year. However, UC lost quite a bit of production from a year ago. Outside of Thomas, the top returning scorer is Addaya Moore, who averaged just 3.7 ppg.
 
Series Stuff
Northern Kentucky leads the all-time series 10-9, but the teams have split all four meetings since the Norse reclassified to NCAA Division I with the home team holding serve in all four meetings. UC won in 2012-13 (49-31) before NKU claimed the next two in 2013-14 (77-61) and 2014-15 (66-52). The Bearcats notched a tightly contested 71-68 win in 2015-16.
 
Nonconference Addition
NKU has added a second nonconference matchup at Akron on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m., bringing the nonconference slate up to two games. Stay tuned to NKUNorse.com or follow @NKUNorseWBB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on Northern Kentucky women's basketball.