---Karmen Graham is the newest member of NKU’s 1,000-point club. She is the 22nd Norse women’s basketball player to score 1,000 points.

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University hits the road this week for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference games, starting with an East Division clash against Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday at 6:15 p.m.

NKU wraps up the road trip Saturday with a game at Southern Indiana at 2 p.m. Both games can be heard live on WIOK (107.5 FM) and on the Internet at www.nku.edu/~athletics.

NKU enters the road trip with a 9-5 record after sweeping home games against GLVC foes Missouri-Rolla and Missouri-St. Louis last week. The Norse are 3-4 in the GLVC but are 0-3 against East Division teams.

NKU has dropped games to Bellarmine, Wisconsin-Parkside and Lewis in the East. Each of those losses were on the road.

Kentucky Wesleyan is one of the most improved teams in the nation this season with a 12-3 overall record. The Panthers are 5-2 in the GLVC.

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING: NKU’s defense is second in the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 60.6 points per game. NKU also leads the GLVC in blocks, averaging 5.5 rejections per game.

EFFICIENT OFFENSE: The Norse remain practically automatic from all parts of the floor. NKU is hitting 79.0 percent of its free throws and 39.5 percent from 3-point range, both good for No. 1 in the GLVC. Overall, the Norse are shooting 47.8 percent from the field, landing them second in the GLVC.

JOIN THE CLUB: Senior Karmen Graham became the 22nd member of the NKU 1,000-point club last week. Graham, from Kettering, Ohio, needs 33 points to pass Janet Brungs for 21st all-time among NKU scorers.

PASS THE ROCK: The Norse lead the GLVC with 17.2 assists per game. Last weekend, the Norse had 34 assists on their 43 field goals and maintained a 1.17 assist-to-turnover ratio.

TOP RESERVE: NKU’s Katie Butler has emerged as the best reserve in the GLVC, and the senior forward poured in an NKU career-high 20 points against Missouri-Rolla last week. She shot 5-of-9 from the field and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. Butler added eight rebounds and three blocked shots in the victory.

For the season, Butler averages 10.6 ppg and is shooting 52.8 percent from the field. She is also second on the team with 17 blocked shots.

---Katie Butler, drawing a foul against Missouri-St. Louis, averages 10.6 points per game and is shooting 52.8 percent from the field.

BALANCE TO THE NORSE: NKU’s scoring attack features four players in double figures and three others who average at least 6.8 ppg. Angela Healy is the Norse’s leading scorer at 11.6 ppg. The junior post player also tops the team in rebounding at 6.9 rpg.

ABOUT KENTUCKY WESLEYAN: The Panthers are led by Latoshia Lawrence, who averages 13.9 points on the season. Laura McClintic, the Panthers' leading rebounder, is pulling 7.8 boards per contest, ranking her second in the GLVC. Seven players average at least 8.0 points per game for the Panthers.

Kentucky Wesleyan is coming off an impressive 95-78 win at Southern Illinois at Edwardsville. In that game, the Panthers used 14-for-30 shooting from 3-point range to roll past SIUE.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST KENTUCKY WESLEYAN: On Feb. 18, 2006, Brittany Winner’s short jumper with 5.6 seconds remaining in the game lifted NKU to a 62-60 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan in the Owensboro Sportscenter.

After Whitney Espenlaub made one of two free throws with 14 seconds left to tie the game at 60-all, NKU brought the ball up the floor to set up a final play. Winner drove the lane and hit a running jumper to give the Norse a 62-60 lead with 5.6 seconds remaining.

After two timeouts, Kentucky Wesleyan’s Megan Fletcher attempted a 3-pointer that missed the mark at the buzzer, and NKU survived the upset bid.

Karmen Graham scored 17 points to lead NKU. Angela Healy added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Norse. Kentucky Wesleyan’s last victory in the series came on Nov. 26, 2004, a 63-48 decision at Owensboro, Ky.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST SOUTHERN INDIANA: On Jan. 7, 2006, NKU limited Southern Indiana to just eight points during the first 10 minutes of the second half and rolled to a 62-43 victory in Regents Hall. The Norse defense allowed the Screaming Eagles to shoot only 25 percent from the field in the second half and turned a close game into a rout. Angela Healy led NKU with 12 points and three blocked shots. She also grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals as the Norse led by as many as 23 points in the second half. Karmen Graham and Nicole Chiodi each scored 10 points in the victory. Katie Thiesenhausen led Southern Indiana with 18 points.