HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky women's basketball team heads out on the road to take on Purdue Fort Wayne this weekend in a pair of matchups. The Norse look to stay perfect in Horizon League play after sweeping Robert Morris this past weekend.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (2-4 Overall, 2-0 Horizon League)
Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (0-4 Overall, 0-2 Horizon League)
Saturday, Dec. 19 – 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Sunday, Dec. 20 – 12:00 p.m. (ET)
Fort Wayne, Indiana. | Gates Sports Center (2,700)
TV: ESPN+  (Game 1) (Game 2)
Stats: Live Stats

 
Fast Break Points 
• NKU swept a doubleheader weekend with Robert Morris by scores of 61-33 and 62-50 to open league play. The win in game one marked Camryn Whitaker's 50th as a head coach.
• Lindsey Duvall posted her third-consecutive double-double in Saturday's game with 21 points and 10 rebounds. She missed out on her fourth-straight by three rebounds after scoring 12 points.
• Through two games this season, NKU is outrebounding its opponents by 11.8 boards per game (41.8-30.0 rpg). That margin ranks 30th-best in the nation.
• NKU continues conference play this weekend with two games at league-newcomer Purdue Fort Wayne.
• NKU is 29-8 all-time against Purdue Fort Wayne, with the last meeting being a 77-64 victory for the Norse at BB&T Arena on December 5, 2015.
• 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 the Horizon League Championship.
• 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 of 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 Duvall has been active and impactful early in her Norse tenure. She registered her first-three double-doubles in consecutive fashion against Bowling Green (10 points, career-high 14 rebounds), No. 19 Ohio State (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Robert Morris (21 points, 10 rebounds). She is leading the Norse in points (13.0) and rebounds (8.8) per game.
• 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. She is averaging 8.2 ppg in the young 2020-21 season.
• Senior forward Kailey Coffey has played in 98 games with 97 starts (14th all-time) during a Norse career in which she has moved into 12th all-time at NKU with 711 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. She is averaging 3.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game so far this year.
• Sophomore guard Ivy Turner joined Souder in the starting rotation every game last year. Turner contributed 8.3 ppg for NKU and was second on the team with 66 dimes. She is scoring at an even better 11.2 ppg clip this year.
• Sophomore guard Carissa Garcia averaged 7.3 ppg as a freshman and continues to make an impact with 7.5 points a contest. 
• Five newcomers join the squad this season, including Louisville transfer junior guard Duvall as well as freshmen guard Kennedy Igo, center Emma Palmer, center Christyan Reid and  guard/wing Ellie Taylor.

Last Time Out
NKU took down Robert Morris in back-to-back matchups on December 12 and 13.

In Dec. 12's contest, the Norse routed the Colonials for their first win of the year, 61-33, shutting down their opponents defensively and out-rebounding them 53-36. Duvall led the way for NKU with a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double performance. Her mark in points was a career-high, besting her earlier high of 13 against Cincinnati this season (Nov. 25). Ivy Turner was the other Norse in double-figures.

A day later, NKU used an 11-2 run and a 24-5 rebounding margin in the first half  to lead by 14 going into the locker room. The Norse cruised from there, taking the victory, 62-50. Turner had 18 points in the matchup on 7-for-10 (70 percent) shooting. She also had six rebounds and a trio of assists to her name. Grayson Rose had an explosive first half in the contest, posting 11 points.
 
Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne
Purdue Fort Wayne is still searching for its first win on the season, as well as its first-ever victory in the Horizon League. The Mastodons were most recently swept by IUPUI last weekend by scores of 75-36 and 80-59.

Hannah Hess leads Purdue Fort Wayne with 15.0 points a game, but did not play either of the Mastodons' matchups with the Jaguars. Riley Ott is the top Mastodon to play all four games, registering 12.8 points, 2.5 boards and 2.0 assists a contest. Jaida Wolfork will also be a player to look out for as she's pulling down a team-high 5.8 boards a contest.
 
Series Stuff
NKU is 29-8 against Purdue Fort Wayne all-time. The Norse defeated the Mastodons, 77-64, in their last matchup on December 5, 2015 in BB&T Arena.