NKU’s Cassie Brannen

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team will play host to NAIA power Georgetown (Ky.) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Regents Hall.

NKU is 14-3 and owns an eight-game winning streak going into Tuesday’s non-conference showdown. The Norse are in first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East with an 8-2 record.

Georgetown is 16-4 and has a seven-game winning streak going into Tuesday night. The Tigers are members of the NAIA’s Mid-South Conference.

The Norse will also meet Bellarmine at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Regents Hall as part of NKU’s 2006 Homecoming.

Both games will be broadcast live on the Internet at www.nku.edu/~athletics. The NKU/Bellarmine game will also be televised live on ICN-6.

HEALY KEYS VICTORY: Sophomore center Angela Healy scored 21 points, including a clutch basket and free throw in the final minute, as NKU defeated Wisconsin-Parkside, 68-62, on Saturday in Regents Hall.

Karyn Creager added 11 points for NKU, which fought off a late Wisconsin-Parkside rally behind the play of Healy. NKU jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but the Rangers shot 52.4 percent from the field in the first half and trailed just 35-29 at the break.

After Wisconsin-Parkside pulled within 62-59 with less than a minute left in the game, Healy powered in for a layup while being fouled. She converted the free throw to give NKU a 65-59 lead.
Healy also grabbed five rebounds and was 7-for-9 from the free-throw line.

DEPTH PAYS OFF: Katie Butler came off the bench and finished with nine points in the win against Wisconsin-Parkside. Karen Brackman added eight points in a reserve role for NKU.

During the Norse’s 62-51 win over Lewis last Thursday, Cassie Brannen came off the bench to score eight points and grab nine rebounds.

Brittany Winner drives against UWP

STREAK ENDS: Karmen Graham’s streak of scoring in double figures ended at 10 straight games during the win over Wisconsin-Parkside. Graham finished with seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Graham leads NKU in scoring at 15.3 points per game. She entered the weekend leading the GLVC in scoring and now ranks No. 3 in the league in that category.

ANOTHER STREAK ENDS: NKU’s streak of holding opponents under 60 points ended at 16 games on Saturday. The Norse still lead the GLVC in scoring defense (51.5 ppg) and field-goal percentage defense (.350).

ABOUT GEORGETOWN: The Tigers are led by sophomore guard Kim Ingle, who averages 19.4 ppg. Freshman post player Julie Leach is scoring 13.1 ppg and averages 5.5 rebounds per game.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST GEORGETOWN: On Nov. 16, 2004, Kim Ingle scored 22 of her game-high 27 points in the second half as Georgetown rolled to an 85-64 victory over NKU in Regents Hall.

Neeley Thomas added 17 points for Georgetown, which defeated NKU for the first time in 10 meetings. The Tigers used full-court pressure to force an up-tempo game and made 55.8 percent of their shots from the field.

Georgetown built a 21-11 lead midway through the first half, but the Norse cut the deficit to 39-35 at the break. After Karyn Creager drained a 3-pointer to bring NKU within 45-43 with 15:18 remaining,

Georgetown took control of the game. The Tigers used a 26-6 run over the next seven minutes to take a 71-49 lead and were never threatened.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST BELLARMINE: On March 4, 2005, in the first round of the GLVC Tournament at Evansville, Ind., NKU was held to two field goals during the first 13 minutes of the game and never recovered as Bellarmine coasted to a 62-54 win over the Norse in Roberts Stadium.

Bellarmine also converted 28 of its 37 free throws and picked up the victory despite going the final 11 minutes of the game without a field goal. The fourth-seeded Knights scored their final 17 points of the game on the free-throw line and held off a late rally by NKU.

NKU shot just 21.4 percent from the field in the first half and also committed nine turnovers before the break. Lynne Johnson led Bellarmine with 24 points and was 11-for-15 at the line. The Knights jumped out to a 21-6 lead with 7:56 remaining in the first half behind 12 points from Johnson.

NKU’s only two field goals during the opening 13 minutes of play were 3-pointers by Elizabeth Burrows and Brittany Winner. Bellarmine took a 32-17 halftime lead and increased that advantage to 47-25 with 10:36 left in the game when Ashley Elmore made two free throws.

NKU rallied with a 13-1 run and pulled within 48-38 with 6:06 left when Karmen Graham hit a short jumper. After Bellarmine stretched the advantage back to 14 points, the Norse sliced the lead to 56-50 with 34 seconds left on two free throws by Sarah Woods. Bellarmine, however, sealed the win by making six free throws in the final 24 seconds.