----Karmen Graham attempts a jumper

By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team begins its exhibition schedule next Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. contest against the University of Kentucky in Memorial Coliseum.

It will be the first of two exhibition games against Division I opponents for NKU. The Norse will also travel to Bloomington, Ind., on Nov. 6 to meet Indiana in Assembly Hall.

Both exhibition games will be broadcast live on the Internet at http://www.nku.edu/~athletics.

The Norse return 11 players from last year’s 27-5 squad, including all five starters. NKU features five seniors, including All-America forward Karmen Graham and Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament most valuable player Brittany Winner.

Graham averaged 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season. She needs 92 points to become the 22nd NKU
women’s basketball player to join the 1,000-point club.

Connie Myers was the most recent entry in 2005, finishing her career 13th all-time at NKU with 1,290 points.

If Graham maintains her career average of 10.8 points per game, she will join the 1,000-point club on Dec. 28 against the College of St. Rose (N.Y.) during NKU's trip to Lakeland, Fla.

ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR WINSTEL: Reigning GLVC Coach of the Year Nancy Winstel is one regular-season win away from recording her 500th victory at NKU. Winstel owns a record of 499-168 in Highland Heights and is 538-209 overall.

She reached the 500 career-win plateau on Dec. 31, 2004, with a 59-55 win over Northwood (Mich.) on her way to a current 538 wins as a coach. She ranks fifth in wins among active coaches in the NCAA Division II.

GLVC FAVORITES: NKU is the favorite to win the GLVC East Division in 2006-07. NKU garnered six of the seven first-place votes.

SHOOTER DELUXE: Senior guard Karyn Creager earned honorable mention All-GLVC accolades last season after averaging 9.1 points and 2.2 rebounds. Creager shot a team-leading 86.4 percent from the free-throw line and made 35.9 percent of her 3-point attempts. She was also the only player last season to start all 32 games. Two years ago, Creager made a school-record 27 consecutive free throws.

----Brittany Winner is a clutch performer

CLUTCH PERFORMER: Brittany Winner finished last season averaging 9.7 points, 5.1 rebounds while playing a team-leading 30.3 minutes of action per game. She also led the team in with 42 steals.

In addition, Winner poured in a career-high 30 points against Drury to lead NKU in the GLVC Tournament championship game. One of the more versatile players in the GLVC, Winner can handle the ball against pressure, shoot from the perimeter and rebound.

TO THE POINT: Nicole Chiodi, a 6-foot junior guard, will run the point for the second straight year. Last season, Chiodi started 31 times, dished out a team-leading 112 assists and collected 39 steals. She averaged 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

IN THE POST: Junior center Angela Healy, a 6-1 graduate of Highlands High School, will start her third season in the middle. She averaged 8.8 points per game and 5.2 rebounds while collecting a team-leading 35 blocks and 39 steals in 31 games.

Helping Healy in the post will be Cassie Brannen, a 6-1 sophomore from Cincinnati. Last season, Brannen averaged 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. She also shot 57.5 percent from the field and added 26 blocks.

BACK-TO-BACK: NKU seeks to become the second straight team to win back-to-back GLVC women’s basketball titles. Quincy took the crown in 2004 and '05. Three schools have gone back-to-back in the GLVC in the past 10 seasons: Southern Indiana in 1997 and '98, NKU in 1999 and 2000, and Quincy in '04 and '05.

ABOUT UK: The Wildcats hold a 10-4 edge over the Norse in the all-time series. The last time the teams met was in 1990, a 97-79 Kentucky victory.

•Kentucky returns all five starters from last season, including 6-6 junior Sarah Elliot, who averaged 11.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 2005-06.

•Forward/center Eleia Roddy will miss the 2006-07 season due to a ligament tear in her knee. As a freshman last season, she was the only non-starter to average more than 20 minutes per game.

•Wildcat head coach Mickie DeMoss is in her fourth year on the bench after 18 years as the top assistant at Tennessee. In 2005-06 she led the Wildcats to a 22-9 record, including their best SEC finish in school history (9-5).

•The last Division II team to defeat UK was NKU, a 71-69 win on Feb. 3, 1979.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST UK: On Nov. 26, 1990, UK jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead and cruised to a 97-79 victory over NKU at Lexington, Ky. Six Wildcats were in double-figures on the night, led by Trayce Davis with 15 points and six assists. Stacy McIntyre and Jocelyn Mills each chipped in 14. Christie Jordan added seven rebounds.

Christie Freppon led the Norse with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Lori McClellan added 21 points while Amy Middleton had 11.

The Wildcats hold a 10-4 edge over the Norse in the all-time series. The Norse are 1-7 in Memorial Coliseum, their only victory in Lexington coming in 1977, an 89-83 decision over UK in Kentucky Women's Intercollegiate Conference play.

REGULAR-SEASON ACTION BEGINS NOV. 21: The Norse will begin their regular season at home on Nov. 21 against Midway (Ky.). Ironically enough, Winstel began her coaching career at Midway, and she can earn her 500th victory on the NKU sideline against that very school in the opener.

Nine days later, NKU will open GLVC play against Quincy at 5:30 p.m. in Regents Hall. Grand Valley State, the defending NCAA Division II national champion, will participate in the Travel America Classic in Regents Hall and will face NKU on Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m.