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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team returns home Thursday for a Great Lakes Valley Conference game against Missouri-Rolla at 5:30 p.m. NKU will also play host to Missouri-St. Louis at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Norse (7-5 overall) suffered a pair of GLVC losses on the road last week and are 1-4 in conference play. The Missouri-Rolla game will be televised live on ICN-6. Both games can be heard live on the Internet at www.nku.edu/~athletics. A GRAHAM IS WORTH A 1,000 POINTS: Karmen Graham enters Thursday's game with 998 career points. The senior post player from Kettering, Ohio, needs just one field goal to become the 22nd member of NKU’s 1,000-point club. NKU’S FREE-THROW QUEEN: Karyn Creager had her streak of consecutive free throws made snapped at 34 straight against Lewis on Saturday. The senior shattered her own school record of 27 consecutive makes from the line, set during her sophomore season. Creager enters Thursday with 876 career points. Creager is the
team's most accurate free-throw shooter at 89.4 percent ON THE BOARDS: Angela Healy continues to lead NKU in scoring at 12.2 points and rebounding at 6.9 boards per contest. Healy has pulled down nine or more rebounds in five different games this season. ALL-AROUND WINNER: Brittany Winner, who had her streak of nine straight double-figure scoring performances broken last Saturday, averages 10.8 ppg and a team-leading 43 assists. The Minster, Ohio, native also leads NKU with 16 steals. OMINOUS STREAK: NKU's current four-game conference losing streak is its longest since becoming a member of the GLVC in 1985. ABOUT MISSOURI-ROLLA: The Lady Miners are 8-5 overall, 2-4 in the GLVC. Tamara McCaskill leads the team in scoring at 15.1 ppg. Nicole Dierking is scoring 13.7 ppg and averages 7.2 rebounds. THE LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI-ROLLA: On Jan. 14, 2006, Karmen Graham’s inside scoring and NKU’s stingy defense produced a 62-50 win at Missouri-Rolla. Graham scored 14 of her 19 points in the first half as NKU built a nine-point lead at the break. She also came through with a clutch three-point play in the second half as the Norse held off a late rally by Missouri-Rolla.
Graham added nine rebounds and made all nine of her free-throw attempts. Brittany Winner and Angela Healy each scored 11 points. Missouri-Rolla rallied from an early seven-point deficit to pull even at 15-all on two free throws by Nicole Dierking. NKU, however, closed the first half with a 14-5 run to take a 29-20 advantage at intermission. The Norse extended their lead to 11 points early in the second half, but Missouri-Rolla battled back and pulled to within 40-37 with 9:12 left in the game on a basket by Jaime Forsberg. Healy and Katie Butler answered for NKU with baskets - both assisted by Karen Brackman - on the next two possessions to extend the Norse lead to 44-37. THE LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS DURING THE REGULAR SEASON: On Jan. 12, 2006, Karmen Graham scored 23 points and made four free throws in the final 36 seconds of the game as NKU rallied for a 66-57 win over Missouri-St. Louis in the Mark Twain Building. Missouri-St. Louis held a 52-50 lead with 2:05 left in the game after Jennifer Martin’s inside basket, but Katie Butler countered by draining a 3-pointer to give NKU a 53-52 advantage with 1:50 remaining. Graham was fouled trying to get position as Butler’s 3-pointer was launched, and she added two free throws to extend the Norse lead to 55-52. Butler gave NKU a 58-52 lead with a minute left on the clock when she hit her second 3-pointer of the game. The Norse sealed the victory by making eight free throws in the final 46 seconds, with Graham converting four straight from the line. NKU also met Missouri-St. Louis in the first round of the GLVC Tournament on March 2, and the Norse prevailed by a 72-62 score at Evansville, Ind. Four NKU players scored in double figures, led by Graham’s 20 points. Graham was 12-for-13 at the free-throw line and added two steals. NKU jumped out to a 22-9 lead in the first half of the game as Karyn Creager scored nine early points. Creager drained a pair of 3-point shots, and she also added a conventional three-point play. NKU held the Riverwomen to just 34.6 percent shooting from the field in the first half. Graham took over in the second half and scored 16 points. Katie Butler came off the bench and scored 12 points for the Norse, who held Missouri-St. Louis to 35.8 percent shooting from the field. Butler scored eight points in the first half as NKU built a 35-28 lead at the break. NKU upped its lead in the all-time series with Missouri-St. Louis to 16-2. |
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