HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – No. 8-seeded Northern Kentucky women's basketball begins the Horizon League Tournament with a home matchup against ninth-seeded Robert Morris on Thursday.
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (7-10 Overall, 7-5 Horizon League)
Robert Morris University Colonials (4-12 Overall, 4-12 Horizon League)
Thursday, Feb. 25 – 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Highland Heights, Ky. | BB&T Arena (8,427)
TV: ESPN+
Stats: Live Stats
Fast Break Points
• The Norse split a pair of games against Oakland last weekend. The Golden Grizzlies won on Friday, 84-81, while NKU took the 88-75 win on Saturday to close out the regular season.
• NKU enters the Horizon League Tournament as the eighth seed and will face ninth-seeded Robert Morris. The Norse swept the Colonials in two matchups this season by scores of 61-33 and 62-50, respectively. NKU has won the last three games in the series and leads it 5-1.
• Three Norse were given All-Horizon League accolades this week: Lindsey Duvall was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team, Ivy Turner was selected for to the third team and Grayson Rose received a defensive-team nod.
• Northern Kentucky is second in the Horizon League in blocked shots per conference game with 4.0. Milwaukee is the only other conference opponent with four or more (4.05).
• NKU's 6-0 start in conference play was the best since the 2008-09 season, where the Norse started off 8-0.
• NKU is currently sixth in the Horizon League standings, and seeded eighth for the Horizon League Tournament.
• The Norse were picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Junior guard Duvall has been impactful for the Norse. 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 had another double-double versus Green Bay. She is leading the Norse in points (16.1) and is second in rebounds (7.5) per game.
• Sophomore guard Carissa Garcia has improved on her freshman campaign, where she scored 7.3 points per game. She is up to 8.9 points a contest and had back-to-back games of 20 or more points at Milwaukee on Jan. 29-30. Garcia was named Horizon League Player of the Week on Feb. 1.
• After a freshman campaign that saw sophomore guard Turner start every game a season ago, she's made an even larger difference this year, scoring 11.1 points, bringing down 3.9 rebounds and dishing 2.9 assists a a game.
• Rose has been impactful in the second half of the season, especially on the boards. On the year, she's scoring at an 8.0 points per game rate and brings in 5.6 rebounds a contest. Rose is currently second in the Horizon League with 1.6 blocks per league contest and is fourth all-time for the Norse in blocked shots.
• Senior forward Kailey Coffey has played in 109 games with 108 starts (good for eighth all-time) during a Norse career in which she has moved into eighth all-time with 796 rebounds. She currently leads the Norse in rebounds along with Duvall with 7.5 boards a contest.
• Coffey has also earned her third-straight Horizon League All-Academic Team honor thanks to her 4.0 GPA as a double-major in Chemistry and Biochemistry Pre-Vet.
• Five newcomers joined 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
The Norse split two games with the Golden Grizzlies to close out the regular season last weekend. On Friday, NKU almost pulled off a comeback from a double-digit deficit, ultimately falling, 84-81. Duvall was unstoppable in the matchup, adding 27 points and seven rebounds to the Norse cause as four other players reached double figures. A day later, Coffey put up 27 points of her own on 9-for-10 (90 percent) shooting, helping the Norse take an 88-75 victory. Once again, five players reached double figures, but Turner and Duvall also eclipsed the 15-point threshold in the game (16 points each).
Scouting Robert Morris
Since kicking off its season with a pair of matchups at BB&T Arena against the Norse, Robert Morris compiled a 4-12 record this season. Two of the Colonials' wins came in eye-catching fashion, however, as RMU swept league-leader Wright State on Jan. 22-23. Freshman Sol Castro leads the way for Robert Morris with 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, with Esther Castedo not far behind at 8.4 ppg.
Series Stuff
NKU is 5-1 overall in the series. The Norse took the two-game sweep against RMU earlier this season by scores of 61-33 and 62-50 respectively.
