 |
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team hits the road this week for two games, beginning with a Thursday night game at Missouri-St. Louis. NKU will conclude the trip Saturday afternoon against Missouri S&T at Rolla, Mo. Both games can be heard live on WIOK (107.5 FM) and the Internet at www.nkunorse.com. NKU, which owns a four-game winning streak, is 13-3 overall and ranked 14th nationally in the NCAA Division II poll. The Norse are tied with Indianapolis for first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division with 6-2 records. NKU posted a 65-44 win over Kentucky Wesleyan last Saturday in Regents Hall to move into a tie with Indianapolis, which lost at Quincy later that afternoon. NEW NAME: Missouri S&T was formerly Missouri-Rolla, but the institution officially changed its name earlier this month to Missouri University of Science & Technology. MILESTONE BASKET: NKU senior center Angela Healy enters Thursday with 998 career points. Healy is looking to become the 24th member of NKU’s 1,000-point club in women’s basketball. She also leads the GLVC in rebounding at 10.9 rpg and has 10 double-doubles this season. In addition, the Highlands High School product continues to lead the GLVC in blocked shots (2.0 bpg) and is No. 7 in scoring (15.3 ppg). BRANNEN NEARS RECORD: NKU junior post player Cassie Brannen enters Thursday with 123 career blocked shots. Janet Brungs currently owns the NKU career record with 132 blocks. Brannen, who has scored in double figures 15 consecutive games, averages 13.5 ppg and has 26 blocked shots this season. She is also second in the GLVC in field-goal percentage at .580. The former Mount Notre Dame High School standout enters Thursday with 684 career points and 352 career rebounds. ASSIST TO CHIODI: NKU senior point guard Nicole Chiodi has 288 career assists entering this week. The Newport Central Catholic High School graduate averages 9.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and leads NKU with 60 assists. She also ranks No. 1 on the team with 30 steals. SLACK ATTACK: NKU junior guard Jessie Slack averages 12.4 ppg and leads the team in 3-pointers made with 25. She also averages 4.1 rebounds and has 42 assists. TOUGH “D”: NKU leads the GLVC in field-goal percentage defense (.350) and blocked shots (6.81 bpg).
ABOUT MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS: The Tritons are 4-10 overall, 2-5 in the GLVC. Missouri-St. Louis, however, owns a road win against Grand Valley State earlier this season. Courtney Watts led the Tritons in scoring at 10.6 ppg. Missouri-St. Louis is 1-4 at home in the Mark Twain Building this season. THE LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS: On Jan. 13, 2007, NKU finished with 10 blocked shots, held Missouri-St. Louis to 29.8 percent shooting from the field and rolled to a 67-44 win at Highland Heights, Ky. The Norse did not allow the visitors to make a shot from 3-point range (0-for-6). Cassie Brannen did most of the swatting for NKU and finished with five blocks. Brannen's defensive efforts contributed to Missouri-St. Louis standout Jennifer Martin's 4-for-11 shooting performance from the field. Brannen and Katie Butler combined for 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots to lead NKU. Butler finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for the Norse. Brannen added 10 points and seven rebounds to her five blocks. Nicole Chiodi scored 12 points and dished out five assists for NKU, which led the entire game. EAST VS. WEST SHOWDOWN: When NKU visits Missouri S&T Saturday, it will be a battle of first-place teams in the GLVC East and West Divisions. The Lady Miners are 12-2 overall, 6-1 in the GLVC. Missouri S&T has won seven straight games going into Thursday. THE LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI S&T (Then Missouri-Rolla): On March 2, 2007, in the first round of the GLVC Tournament at Evansville, Ind., NKU's inside attack made Missouri-Rolla's stay in the postseason short and sour. NKU sent Missouri-Rolla packing with a 67-52 first-round victory in Roberts Stadium. The Norse continually pounded the ball inside to post players Angela Healy (23 points) and Cassie Brannen (14 points) and cruised past the Lady Miners into the GLVC Tournament semifinals. Healy shot 8-for-12 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. She also blocked three shots and finished with two assists. Healy, in fact, made her first five shots from the field as NKU built a 16-9 lead. The Norse started the game 7-for-9 from the field behind the play of Healy and Brannen. Missouri-Rolla battled back and cut the NKU lead to 18-17 on a basket by Katie Bunge. The Norse scored the next eight points to extend their advantage to 26-17 with 4:54 left before halftime. Brannen capped the NKU run by powering in for a basket while being fouled. She converted the free throw to give the Norse a nine-point lead. Karyn Creager hit a jumper just before the half ended to give NKU a 34-25 lead. The Lady Miners pulled to within five points twice early in the second half, but NKU used a 7-0 run to stretch its lead to 43-31 when Katie Butler buried a 3-pointer. Butler finished with eight points and three blocked shots. Creager and Nicole Chiodi each added nine points for NKU, which shot 53.1 percent from the field. Brannen hauled down a game-high 10 rebounds and added two blocks, bringing her school-record season total to 69 rejections. Bunge led Missouri-Rolla with 16 points. The Lady Miners, who entered the GLVC Tournament on a roll after picking up road wins at Southern Illinois at Edwardsville and Quincy, made just 33.9 percent of their shots from the field.
|
||||
