Jan. 24, 2000

NORSE (12-2) TO HOST USI ON THURSDAY

NKU owns two-game lead in GLVC standings

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team improved to 12-2 on Saturday with a 76-63 win on the road at Saint Joseph’s College. NKU is now 7-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and in first place in the league standings.

NKU will play host to the University of Southern Indiana at 5:30 p.m. Thursday night. The Norse will also meet Southern Illinois at Edwardsville at 1 p.m. Saturday in Regents Hall.

Sophomore forward Michelle Cottrell scored 21 points and grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds on Saturday to lead NKU, which rallied from a 38-37 halftime deficit. It was Cottrell’s third consecutive double-double, and it marked the sixth time this season she has accomplished that feat.

Cottrell leads NKU in scoring at 17.9 points per game, and she is No. 1 in the GLVC in rebounding at 9.9 rebounds per contest. Cottrell has made 54.8 percent of her shots from the field, and she also has 30 steals.

Junior guard Michele Tuchfarber averages 14.5 ppg and 4.7 rebounds. Tuchfarber, who added 14 points on Saturday, has scored 979 career points and is looking to become just the 17th player in NKU women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 career points.

Freshman forward Amy Mobley came off the bench Saturday night and scored a career-high 19 points against Saint Joseph’s. Mobley made 7 of 10 shots from the field in that game and also grabbed six rebounds. She also led the Norse with four assists.

For the season, Mobley averages 5.9 ppg and 6.1 rebounds. She leads the team in blocked shots with 23 and ranks No. 4 in the GLVC in that category (1.64 bpg).

Junior guard Heather Livingstone averages 13.1 ppg and leads the GLVC in three-point shooting at 54.1 percent. She leads NKU in assists (43) and three-pointers made (33).

Freshman center Kristin Polosky averages 7.3 ppg and has 10 blocked shots. Freshman guard/forward Bridget Flanagan averages 4.9 ppg and has made 16 of 33 (.485) three-point attempts. Junior center Jessica Jenson averages 4.9 ppg and 4.3 rpg. Jenson scored 12 points last Thursday night during NKU’s 66-54 road win at Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne.

BOARD GAME: Michelle Cottrell was close to setting a single-game NKU record on Saturday night when she grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds against Saint Joseph’s. The NKU record for rebounds in a game is 24, set by Peggy Vincent against Bellarmine on Dec. 14, 1975.

THE STREAK CONTINUES: NKU won its 11th consecutive game against Saint Joseph’s on Saturday, a streak which dates back to the 1993-94 season. The Norse are now 11-0 against current SJC head coach Lynn Plett.

BEST IN THE GLVC: NKU is winning its games by an average margin of 19.4 points per game, easily the best scoring margin in the GLVC. The next best scoring margin is +6.9 ppg, shared by Southern Indiana and Southern Illinois at Edwardsville.

ABOUT SOUTHERN INDIANA: The Lady Eagles own a 10-5 overall record (5-4 in the GLVC) after rallying to defeat Kentucky Wesleyan, 86-79, Saturday night at Evansville, Ind.

Senior guard/forward Mindy Gingerich averages 13.0 ppg to lead the Southern Indiana offense. Gingerich also averages 5.4 rebounds per game, and she has made 14 of 38 three-point attempts. Gingerich also leads USI with 52 assists.

Junior guard Natalie Glaser is scoring 12.3 ppg, and she has connected on 17 of 46 three-point attempts. Senior guard Jennifer Donner is the third USI player averaging in double figures at 10.5 ppg, and she leads the team in three-pointers made with 19.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST USI: On Feb. 26, 1999, in the semifinals of the GLVC Tournament at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind., NKU rallied to defeat USI, 68-64. Michelle Cottrell scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Michele Tuchfarber added 23 points as NKU defeated USI for the third time last season.

During the regular season, NKU posted a 66-62 win at Evansville, Ind. The Norse also won the rematch in Highland Heights, Ky., by a 73-68 score.

USI’s last victory against NKU came in the semifinals of the 1998 GLVC Tournament, when the Lady Eagles defeated the Norse, 71-66, at PAC Arena.