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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team begins Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday at 5:30 p.m. against Quincy in Regents Hall. NKU will also play host to Southern Illinois at Edwardsville at 1 p.m. Saturday. Both games can be heard live on the Internet at www.nku.edu/~athletics. The SIUE game will be televised live on ICN-6 Saturday afternoon. NKU enters GLVC play with a 2-0 record after collecting a pair of non-conference victories over Midway (98-42) and Wayne (Mich.) State (97-56). The two victories last week extended the Norse's home winning streak to 11 games. The current streak began with a 74-55 victory over Loyola (Ill.) on Dec. 22, 2005. NKU is ranked 10th nationally in the latest Division II poll. BRANNEN BRUISES OPPOSITION: Cassie Brannen scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead NKU past Wayne State. The sophomore post player was 7-for-8 from the field and made all six of her attempts from the free-throw line. The former Mount Notre Dame High School standout leads the Norse in scoring at 13.5 points per game. Brannen is shooting 81.8 percent from the field and averages 8.0 rebounds per game. She is also perfect (9-for-9) from the free-throw line after two games. KERI, KERI GOOD: Sophomore Keri Finnell scored a career-high 12 points against Wayne State. The former Purcell Marian star also had two assists. OFFENSIVE SHOW: NKU combined for 195 points in its first two games of the season, marking the most prolific two-game scoring span since the 1992-93 season, when the Norse scored 203 points in back-to-back wins at Kentucky State (117-46) and at home against Lewis (86-78). During the win over Wayne State last week, six NKU players scored in double figures. DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: The Norse have allowed just 30 points combined in the first half this season. The combined 95 points allowed to their two opponents is the lowest since Jan. 5-7, 2006, when the Norse allowed just 90 points combined against Kentucky Wesleyan (62-47) and Southern Indiana (62-43). NKU is holding its opponents to 29.6 percent shooting from the field.
GOOD OMEN: NKU has enjoyed success in early conference play. Since joining the GLVC in 1985, the Norse are 15-6 in conference openers. BRACK 'EM UP: NKU sophomore guard Karen Brackman finished with 11 points, two assists and a steal in 17 minutes of action against Wayne State. Brackman averages 9.5 ppg and is shooting 63.6 percent from the field GRAHAM ON THE MEND: NKU played its first two games without senior forward Karmen Graham, who is nursing a sore knee and is listed as day-to-day. Graham was the Norse's leading scorer and rebounder en route to earning honorable mention All-America accolades last season. She was also named to the All-GLVC first team and All-Great Lakes Region. SUPER SUB: Katie Butler averages 12.5 ppg off the bench for NKU. The senior forward from Findlay, Ohio, is shooting 61.5 percent from the field and is tied for team leadership in blocked shots (4) and steals (4). Butler is also perfect (8-for-8) from the free-throw line and averages 6.0 rebounds per game. A WINNER IN ANY LANGUAGE: NKU senior forward Brittany Winner leads NKU in assists (4.5 apg), and she is scoring 6.5 ppg. A Spanish education major, Winner also averages 5.0 rebounds per contest. ABOUT QUINCY: The Lady Hawks are 2-1 going into Thursday. Quincy is led by sophomore guard Jessica Keller, who is averaging 14.7 points and 8.0 rebounds through three contests. Two other Lady Hawks, Janette Burgin and Alex Wieser, are averaging 12.0 ppg. Quincy defeated St. Francis (Ill.), 95-74, in its last game. THE LAST TIME AGAINST QUINCY: On March 4, 2006, in the semifinals of the GLVC Tournament, NKU ended Quincy’s two-year reign as league champion with a 67-49 victory over the Lady Hawks in Roberts Stadium. NKU held Quincy to just 26.2 percent shooting from the field and turned the ball over only 11 times against the Lady Hawks’ pressure defense. The Norse gradually wore down Quincy with their deep bench and sealed the win by shooting 85.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Karmen Graham started off the second half with consecutive baskets to extend the Norse lead to 31-23. She later took a feed from Brittany Winner to give NKU its first double-digit advantage at 37-27 with 14:57 remaining. A conventional three-point play by Winner gave NKU a 51-37 lead with 8:23 left, and Brannen powered in for a basket seconds later to make it 53-37. The Norse controlled the remainder of the contest and coasted into the GLVC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2002. NKU set a GLVC Tournament record with 10 blocked shots, as Angela Healy, Cassie Brannen and Karen Brackman all finished with two rejections. Graham led the Norse with 18 points and nine rebounds. Winner and Healy each finished with nine points, while Betsey Clark dished out five assists. NKU holds an 18-6 edge in the all-time series against Quincy. THE LAST TIME AGAINST SIUE: On Feb. 2, 2006, four NKU players scored in double figures as the Norse posted a 72-55 victory over SIUE in a game at Edwardsville, Ill. Karyn Creager scored 14 points for NKU, while Nicole Chiodi added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Norse shot 60.9 percent from the field in the second half. Angela Healy finished with 12 points and seven rebounds as NKU coasted to the road victory. |
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