HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's basketball hits the road for the final time of the regular season with two games in the Motor City. First up is a 7 p.m. tilt at Detroit Mercy on Thursday, Feb. 27, which will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse trailed by just one point at the half at Wright State, but the Raiders went on to maintain their lead in the second en route to a 79-69 win in Dayton. Ally Niece led NKU with her third 20-point scoring effort, while Taylor Clos and Emmy Souder added 14 and 13, respectively.
 
POSTSEASON PROJECTIONS: As it stands with two games remaining in the regular season, NKU could finish anywhere from second to sixth in the conference standings. Northern Kentucky currently sits at fourth in the standings with a 10-6 mark, trailing Wright State and Green Bay, which are both tied for second at 11-5. For the Norse to receive the second seed in the 2019 Horizon League Championship, NKU would need to win both of its games this weekend, and both Green Bay and Wright State would need to go 0-2. In the event that Green Bay and Wright State go 1-1 while NKU goes 2-0, there would be a three-way tie for second in the standings. However, the tie-breaking formula dictates that the combined record of each of the tied teams will be compared against the others in the tie, in which case Wright State would come out on top (3-1), followed by Green Bay (2-2) and NKU would take the fourth seed (1-3). In the event of a head-to-head tie, Wright State would hold the advantage by virtue of a 2-0 record against the Norse this year, while Green Bay would get the edge based on records versus highest-seeded common opponents with its win over the Raiders earlier in the season.
  
The Norse could also finish in fifth or sixth, as Cleveland State and Milwaukee both hold a 9-7 record. Cleveland State holds the tiebreak against NKU, while the Norse have the head-to-head edge against Milwaukee, and in the event of a three-way tie, CSU would earn the No. 4 seed, NKU the No. 5 and Milwaukee the No. 6. The only scenario that exists for NKU to receive the No. 6 seed is if NKU goes 0-2, falling to a 10-8 record, while Cleveland State would go 1-1 for a 10-8 mark and Milwaukee would go 2-0 for an 11-7 record. Milwaukee would then get the No. 4 seed, while the Norse would fall to No. 6 due to the head-to-head tiebreak with the Vikings.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOMS: Northern Kentucky is the only institution to have had two rookies named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week two times apiece. Carissa Garcia is the most recent recipient after she averaged 15.5 points per game in victories over UIC and IUPUI, including a career-high 20 points and 4-for-7 from beyond the arc against the Flames. She also earned the distinction on Dec. 9 following her performance against No. 2/2 Louisville, in which she led the team with 13 points and five assists.
  
Ivy Turner has also been making an immediate impact in her rookie campaign, starting in all 27 contests for the Norse. The Danville, Kentucky, native is third on the team in scoring with 8.5 points per game, and is the most utilized player on the team at 30.7 mpg. Turner also averages 2.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. She was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week for the second time this season on Jan. 13 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.
 
BRAINS AND BRAWN: On Feb. 20, junior forward Kailey Coffey was honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as an Academic All-District member for the second season. Coffey is one of just seven student-athletes out of 42 Division I honorees with an unblemished grade point average. In addition to her stellar classroom performance, Coffey is NKU's leading rebounder and has had eight double-digit rebounding performances this season. She is now eligible for Academic All-America honors, which will be announced on Monday, March 9.
 
NORSE VS THE HORIZON LEAGUE: Since entering Horizon League play, the Norse find themselves among the top of the league in several statistical categories, ranking in the top-four in scoring defense (58.6 ppg), scoring margin (+7.0), rebounding margin (+4.6) and turnover margin (+2.1). Individually, Grayson Rose ranks second in the league with 1.6 blocks per game, while Niece ranks second in free-throw percentage (90.9 percent) as well as third in assists per game (3.8) and seventh with a 1.47 assist-to-turnover ratio. Coffey pulls down 8.1 rpg to rank sixth in the league, Turner's 1.6 steals per game rank seventh and Molly Glick's 1.6 triples per game rank 10th.
 
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 currently has 1,211 career points and is 41 points away from cracking NKU's all-time top-20.
  
Glick also has 200 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 16 of NKU's 26 contests. The redshirt-senior has started in all but two games in her collegiate career, good for second all-time (118).
 
SCOUTING DETROIT MERCY: The Titans have gone 3-24 overall, with their only wins of the year coming against UIC (twice) and Cleveland State. In league games, Detroit Mercy is averaging 56.4 points per game and surrendering 68.9 ppg. The Titans have also been turnover prone, committing 18.4 miscues a game. Freshman Sylare Starks is the only Titan averaging double figures, pacing the team with 10.8 ppg. Detroit Mercy's rookies have been making an impact in their first seasons, as three of the team's four top scorers are freshmen.
           
Northern Kentucky holds a 7-3 advantage in the all-time series with the Titans, which dates back to the 2015-16 campaign when the Norse joined the Horizon League. NKU has won the last six contests, most recently taking down Detroit Mercy, 70-62, on Jan. 25.