HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team will open the season Tuesday with a 7 p.m. game against Georgetown (Ky.) College in Regents Hall.
The broadcast of the game can be heard live on the Internet at http://www.nku.edu/~athletics/0405broadcastpage.htm
NKU finished with a 17-11 record last season and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the sixth consecutive year. The Norse return three starters and seven letterwinners from that team.
NKU played an exhibition game against the 2000 NKU national championship team Saturday night, and the current Norse posted an 82-50 win. Nikki Perkins led NKU with 17 points and made five three-point shots.
The Norse connected on 12 three-point shots in 20 attempts, including 6-for-8 shooting in the second half. Connie Myers scored 15 points for NKU, while Karmen Graham added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Karyn Creager chipped in 12 points for the Norse, who forced 21 turnovers. With the score tied at 39-39 with 17:46 left in the game, NKU ran off a 20-3 spurt to take a 59-42 lead. Creager, Perkins, Graham and Betsey Clark each drained three-pointers during the run, while Myers added a pair of inside baskets.
Julie Cowens finished with 19 points to lead the 2000 national champions, while Michelle Cottrell added 13 points and 13 rebounds. The 2000 national champions, however, shot just 25 percent from the field in the second half.
INSIDE FORCE: NKU senior forward Connie Myers averaged a team-leading 14.4 points per game last season. Myers connected on 46.4 percent of her shots from the field and averaged 7.3 rebounds per game. She also scored in double figures 21 times as a junior and enters the season with 827 career points.
AUTOMATIC FROM THE LINE: NKU sophomore Karyn Creager led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in free throw shooting last season, finishing at 87.1 percent. Creager averaged 6.5 points per contest and also hit 18 three-point shots last season.
GRAHAM FOR THREE: NKU sophomore post player Karmen Graham hit a trio of three-point shots in the Norse's exhibition victory against the 2000 national champions, but no one should be surprised by that statistic.
A year ago, Graham connected on 57.9 percent (11-for-19) of her attempts from three-point range and averaged 6.5 ppg. She also led NKU with 24 blocked shots last season.
NKU PICKED FOURTH IN GLVC POLL: NKU is picked fourth in the GLVC preseason poll. Bellarmine University and the University of Indianapolis each received 86 points to top the poll. Bellarmine received four first-place votes, while Indianapolis totaled two first-place votes.
Defending GLVC champion Quincy University is third in the poll with 85 points and three first-place votes. NKU totaled 77 points and received two first-place votes.
WINSTEL CLOSES IN ON 500 CAREER WINS: NKU head coach Nancy Winstel enters the 2004-05 season with 495 career wins. Winstel has 456 victories at NKU, and she recorded 39 wins at Midway (Ky.) College. Her 495 wins rank sixth among NCAA Division II head coaches.
ABOUT GEORGETOWN: The Tigers, who posted a 23-11 record last season, enter Tuesday night with a 2-0 record after posting a 61-42 win over Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday. Georgetown is a member of the NAIA.
Georgetown features senior guard Neeley Thomas, who averages 21.0 ppg. Thomas scored 19 points against Trevecca Nazarene. Senior guard Candas Smith is scoring 11.0 ppg for the Tigers.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST GEORGETOWN: On Nov. 20, 2001, Michelle Cottrell scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as NKU defeated Georgetown, 70-54, in Regents Hall. Bridget Flanagan added 15 points as the Norse opened the season with a victory.
NKU held Georgetown to just 26.9 percent shooting from the field (7 of 26) in the second half to break open a close game. NKU used a 12-3 run to extend a 37-36 lead to 49-39 with 7:34 remaining. Suzie Smith scored six points during the NKU spurt.
The Norse made 52.3 percent of their shots from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 34-29 margin.
NKU is 9-0 in the all-time series against Georgetown.
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Karyn Creager |