Angela Healy scores against KWC

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team will hit the road for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference games this week, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. Thursday contest at Missouri-St. Louis.

The Norse conclude the trip Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at Missouri-Rolla. Both games this week will be broadcast live on the Internet at www.nku.edu/~athletics and on WIOK (107.5 FM).

NKU improved to 10-3 overall with a 62-43 win over Southern Indiana on Saturday. The Norse are 4-2 in the GLVC and in third place in the GLVC East standings.

DEFENSE CARRIES NORSE: NKU limited Southern Indiana to just eight points during the first 10 minutes of the second half and rolled to the victory in Regents Hall. The Norse defense allowed the Screaming Eagles to shoot only 25 percent from the field in the second half and turned a close game into a rout.

HEALY LEADS WAY: Angela Healy led NKU against Southern Indiana with 12 points and three blocked shots. The 6-foot-1 sophomore also grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals as the Norse led by as many as 23 points in the second half.

Healy averages 9.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. She is also shooting 53.5 percent from the field and leads NKU with 20 blocked shots.

GO-TO PLAYER: NKU junior post player Karmen Graham leads the GLVC in scoring at 15.3 ppg. She is also shooting 56.7 percent from the field and is No. 1 on the team in rebounding at 6.0 rpg.

Graham enters Thursday having scored in double figures in seven consecutive games.

FROM THE LINE: NKU finished 31-for-39 from the free-throw line against Southern Indiana. Graham and Karyn Creager each were 6-for-6 from the line. Creager is 31-for-34 (91.2 percent) at the line this season.

Nicole Chiodi drives against KWC

WINNER TIME: NKU junior forward Brittany Winner finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in a 62-47 win over Kentucky Wesleyan last week. She also dished out a team-leading four assists in that win.

For the season, Winner ranks second on the team with 33 assists. She also averages 7.5 ppg and 5.8 rebounds per contest. Winner has also made 76.9 percent of her free throws.

STINGY DEFENSE: NKU has held every opponent under 60 points this season, and the Norse lead the GLVC in scoring defense at 50.4 ppg. NKU has limited six opponents to less than 50 points this season. The Norse have not allowed an opponent to reach 50 points in any of their last three games.

The most points scored in a game against NKU this season is 58 (a 58-52 loss to Hillsdale).

NORSE LOOK FOR FIVE IN A ROW: NKU enters Thursday with a four-game winning streak. The Norse also won four straight to open the season before suffering a 56-45 loss to No. 2 Drury on Dec. 3.

NKU’s longest winning streak last season was eight games.

ABOUT MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS: The Riverwomen are 8-4 after posting a 67-52 win at Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday. Missouri-St. Louis is 2-3 in the GLVC.

Missouri-St. Louis is led by Jennifer Martin, who averages 11.3 ppg and 6.4 rpg. Courtney Watts is scoring 11.2 ppg and leads the team with 30 assists.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS: On Feb. 26, 2005, Brittany Winner drained a pair of key 3-pointers early in the second half, Karmen Graham scored nine points during the final 20 minutes and Angela Healy came off the bench to block five shots as NKU rallied from a 10-point deficit to knock off Missouri-St. Louis, 72-58, in Regents Hall.

The Norse shot 76.2 percent from the field in the second half to pull out the victory on Senior Day.
Missouri-St. Louis closed the first half with a 21-6 run to take a 34-24 lead at the break. The Riverwomen held NKU to 36.8 percent shooting from the field in the first half and forced the Norse into 11 turnovers.

NKU opened the second half with a 15-2 run and took a 39-36 lead on a 3-pointer by Winner at the 14:43 mark. Two minutes later, Winner hit another 3-pointer to give the Norse a 42-40 advantage and key an 18-3 run that would eventually stretch NKU’s lead to 57-43 with 7:51 left in the game.

NKU limited Missouri-St. Louis to 26.1 percent shooting from the field in the second half. The Norse also converted 13 of their 18 free throws during the final 20 minutes.
NKU leads the all-time series with Missouri-St. Louis, 14-2.

ABOUT MISSOURI-ROLLA: The Lady Miners, in their first season of competing in the GLVC, are 10-2 overall. Missouri-Rolla is 4-1 in the GLVC and is in second place in the GLVC West.

Nicole Dierking leads Missouri-Rolla in scoring at 11.5 ppg. Jaime Forsberg averages 10.6 ppg.

NKU owns a 2-0 lead in the all-time series with Missouri-Rolla. The Norse last played the Lady Miners on Nov. 29, 1997, and NKU pulled out a 73-58 win at Rolla, Mo.