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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team is preparing for what promises to be an intriguing Travel America Classic, which begins next Monday (Dec. 18) in Regents Hall. NKU will take on Northern Michigan (Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m.) and Grand Valley State (Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m.) in the two-day tournament. Emporia State will be in town as well to round out the four-team field and will meet Grand Valley State and Northern Michigan at 5:30 p.m. both days. Both NKU games can be heard live on the Internet at www.nku.edu/~athletics. Tickets for the event can be purchased by calling (859) 572-6639. NKU is looking
to bounce back from an 85-78 defeat at the hands of Grand Valley State, the defending NCAA Division II national champion, is ranked No. 3 nationally. Emporia State is ranked No. 2. KNIGHTS TAKE GLVC EAST SHOWDOWN: Bellarmine made 72.7 percent of its 3-point attempts, won the rebounding battle by a 35-26 margin and finished 29-for-37 from the free-throw line to defeat NKU last Saturday. Taylor Kopple and Angela Smith combined for 44 points to lead the Knights, who avenged a pair of losses to NKU last season. Kopple, a sophomore forward, scored a career-high 24 points and was 12-for-15 at the line. Smith tallied 18 of her 20 points in the second half. She also drained a trio of key 3-pointers for the Knights. Angela Healy scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead NKU, which shot 51 percent from the field. Karyn Creager added 14 points and four assists, while Katie Butler scored 13 points off the bench. Brittany Winner finished with 11 points, two blocked shots and two assists for NKU, while teammate Nicole Chiodi added eight points, two blocks and three assists. RARE OCCURANCE: Prior to last Saturday's setback at Bellarmine, the last time NKU shot better than 50 percent in a losing effort was Feb. 23, 2006, when Wisconsin-Parkside defeated the Norse, 70-62. NKU shot 51.1 percent in that game. HALFWAY TO ANOTHER RECORD: Karyn Creager, who holds the school record of 27 consecutive made free throws, has hit her last 14 in a row since the Nov. 30 meeting with Quincy. Over the past two games, Creager has averaged 17.5 points on 78 percent shooting from long range. The Leipsic, Ohio, native is averaging 11.8 ppg for the season and now has 815 career points at NKU.
STREAK ENDS: Katie Butler, who hit her first 13 free throws of the season, saw her streak come to an end at the 8:57 mark of the second half against Bellarmine last Saturday when she missed her first from the line. STREAK CONTINUES: Angela Healy stands as the team's most accurate free-throw shooter at 94.4 percent (17-for-18) and has hit her last 15 attempts dating back to the Nov. 25 game against Wayne State. Healy currently leads the Norse with 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest. 1-2 PUNCH:The NKU bench has proved just as effective as the starters this season as the Norse boast the GLVC's top two shooters among their reserves in Cassie Brannen (67.7 percent) and Katie Butler (62.2 percent). Angela Healy stands fourth, shooting 56.3 percent, while Brittany Winner stands at eighth in the conference with a 54.2 percent mark. GRAHAM NEARS 1,000 POINTS: NKU senior post player Karmen Graham enters the Travel America Classic with 941 career points. A REAL WINNER: NKU senior Brittany Winner averages 11.0 ppg, shoots 54.2 percent from the field and ranks No. 2 on the team with 20 assists. The Minster, Ohio, native is also tied for second on the team with seven blocked shots and she is shooting 72.7 percent from the free-throw line. She also leads NKU in minutes played with 163 (27.2 mpg). ABOUT NORTHERN MICHIGAN: The Wildcats, who will play Ashland on Saturday, own a 2-5 overall record. Allison Carroll leads the Wildcats with 14.6 points over their seven games. THE LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHERN MICHIGAN: On March 7, 2002, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional at Evansville, Ind., Bridget Flanagan scored 22 points as NKU posted a 73-60 win over Northern Michigan at the PAC Arena. Amy Mobley added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Norse, who later beat both Lake Superior State and host Southern Indiana to win the regional championship. NKU holds a 3-2 lead in the all-time series with the Wildcats. THE LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHERN MICHIGAN IN REGENTS HALL: On March 11, 2000, Michele Tuchfarber scored 22 points as NKU defeated Northern Michigan, 77-70, in the championship game of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament in Regents Hall. Michelle Cottrell added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Norse, who won their 21st consecutive game and improved to 29-2. Cottrell was also named the tournament’s most outstanding player as NKU rallied from a 12-point deficit in the first half. Tuchfarber scored 17 of her 22 points in the second half for the Norse. She also made all 10 of her free-throw attempts. Two weeks later in Pine Bluff, Ark., NKU won its first national champion by defeating North Dakota State in overtime. THE LAST TIME AGAINST GRAND VALEY STATE: On March 11, 2006, in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional at Springfield, Mo., Grand Valley State shot 73.3 percent from the field in the first half to take a 51-34 lead at the break and coasted to a 91-70 win over NKU. The Lakers led as many as 31 points in the final 20 minutes. Erika Ryskamp scored 25 points for second-seeded Grand Valley State, which would go on to defeat Drury for the regional title en route to the national championship. Grand Valley State started the game by making 11 of its first 13 shots from the field to build a 22-13 lead. Crystal Zick scored eight of her 15 points in the first seven minutes of the game to spark the Lakers. Karmen Graham scored a team-leading 17 points for NKU. Brittany Winner added 13 points and six rebounds for the Norse. |
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