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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University is the No. 2 seed in the women’s basketball NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament, but the Norse are facing a difficult test in the opening round against No. 7 seed Ferris State. Those two teams will square off Friday at 2:30 p.m. (Central time) at Romeoville, Ill. NKU enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-7 record, while Ferris State is 21-8. Ferris State has beaten NKU two straight times, including a 67-54 win over the Norse on Dec. 30, 2004 at Midland, Mich. During the 2001-02 season, Ferris State held off NKU, 70-65, at Big Rapids, Mich. All NKU games this weekend can be heard live on WIOK (107.5 FM) and on the Internet at www.nku.edu/~athletics. Lewis (27-3), which captured its first Great Lakes Valley Conference title since 1985 on Sunday, is the No. 1 seed. The Flyers will play No. 8 seed Bellarmine (19-10) in the first round Friday at 6 p.m. Lewis is undefeated (11-0) at home this season. Other Friday quarterfinal games match No. 6 seed Gannon (24-5), the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion, against defending national champion and No. 3 seed Grand Valley State (21-7) at noon, and No. 5 seed Southern Illinois at Edwardsville (20-8) and No. 4 seed Drury (22-8) at 8:30 p.m. Saturday’s semifinals will match the Gannon/Grand Valley State and Ferris State/NKU winners at 5 p.m., and the Bellarmine/Lewis and SIUE/Drury winners at 7:30 p.m. The regional championship game is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. Advanced tickets for the Great Lakes Regional may be purchased by calling Lewis Athletics at (815) 836-5247 or by visiting the Lewis athletics office, located adjacent to Neil Carey Arena. AN ALL-REGION WINNER: NKU’s Brittany Winner has earned All-Great Lakes Region honors from Daktronics, Inc. Winner, a senior from Minster, Ohio, was voted to the All-Great Lakes Region second team. The 5-foot-10 forward averages a team-leading 11.5 points per game. Winner leads NKU in steals (34) and 3-pointers made (39), and she is shooting 47 percent from 3-point range. One of the Great Lakes Valley Conference's top clutch performers in late-game situations, Winner has consistently hit dramatic shots for NKU the past two seasons. Last week, Winner was named All-GLVC first team by the league coaches. Going into the NCAA Division II Tournament, Winner has scored 936 career points during her college career, which began at Elon (N.C.).
HEALY EARNS GLVC HONOR: NKU junior center Angela Healy was named to the GLVC All-Tournament team last week at Evansville, Ind. Healy averaged 18.0 ppg and 5.5 rebounds in two games at the GLVC Tournament. For the season, Healy averages 11.3 ppg and a team-leading 6.9 rebounds per contest. NKU AGAINST THE GREAT LAKES REGION FIELD: NKU is 3-5 against the regional field this season. The Norse are 1-1 against Drury, 1-1 against Lewis, 0-1 against Grand Valley State, 1-1 against Bellarmine and 0-1 against Southern Illinois at Edwardsville. NKU’S NCAA HISTORY: NKU owns a 20-15 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, and the Norse captured the 2000 NCAA Division II national championship at Pine Bluff, Ark., with a 71-62 overtime victory against North Dakota State. Four years ago, NKU defeated Grand Valley State, Indianapolis and Quincy to win the Great Lakes Region title at Indianapolis, Ind. The Norse also posted wins against Washburn (Kan.) and California (Pa.) at St. Joseph, Mo., before falling to South Dakota State in the national championship game. This marks the eighth time in the last nine years NKU has earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. THE LAST TIME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: A year ago, NKU defeated Michigan Tech, 67-66, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional at Springfield, Mo. The Norse were eliminated by eventual national champion Grand Valley State in the regional semifinals, 91-70. THE LAST TIME AGAINST FERRIS STATE: On Dec. 30, 2004, at Midland, Mich., Ferris State denied Nancy Winstel her 500th coaching win by posting a 67-54 victory over NKU in the Great Lakes Valley Conference/Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Classic at the Bennett Sports Center. The Norse committed 24 turnovers and shot just 32.7 percent from the field. Kristin Reinhart scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to lead Ferris State, which improved to 3-7. The Bulldogs built a 41-31 lead with 14:31 remaining in the game, but NKU rallied with a 9-0 run to pull within 41-40 on a layup by Connie Myers. Ferris State responded with an 11-3 run to extend its lead to 52-43 with 7:10 left in the game. Reinhart capped that spurt by making a basket while being fouled and converting the free throw for a 52-4 advantage. The Bulldogs led by as many as 14 points late in the game and defeated NKU for the second straight time. In the previous meeting between the two schools on Dec. 29, 2001, Ferris State held off NKU, 70-65. NKU leads the all-time series with Ferris State, 4-2. FERRIS STATE INSIDE FORCE: Ferris State features 6-1 junior post player Rachel Folcik, who was voted to the All-Great Lakes Region first team after averaging 19.1 ppg and 8.2 rebounds per contest. Folcik is also shooting 56.6 percent from the field and was recently featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” section. Senior guard Kristin Reinhart averages 15.2 ppg, and senior guard Erin Miller is scoring 11.1 ppg. NCAA II GREAT LAKES REGION INFORMATION
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