 |
| ---Kendra
Caldwell attempts a jumper against St. Andrews during the
Travel America Classic last week in Regents Hall. Caldwell,
a freshman center from Xenia, Ohio, has helped NKU start 8-1
this season. |
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS,
Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball
team resumes play Saturday at 1 p.m. with a road game against Grand
Valley State at Allendale, Mich.
The Grand Valley
State game can be heard live on the Internet at www.nkunorse.com.
NKU owns an
8-1 record after winning twice in the Travel America Classic last
week and later posting a road victory at Wayne State. The Norse
have won six consecutive games and are ranked 11th nationally in
the NCAA Division II poll.
HEALY
EARNS GLVC HONOR: NKU senior center Angela Healy has been
named Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week. Healy, a
graduate of Highlands High School, recorded three double-doubles
last week as NKU won three games in four days. For the week, Healy
averaged 19 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.0 blocked shots
per game while shooting 66.7 percent from the field. She was also
13-for-14 (.929) from the free-throw line.
NEARING 1,000: Healy now has 914 career points
at NKU and is closing in on becoming the 24th member of the Norse's
1,000-point club. She is averaging 17.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and
1.8 blocks per game this season. The Ft. Thomas, Ky., native currently
ranks fifth in the GLVC in scoring and second in both rebounding
and blocks.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
STREAK: Healy enters Saturday with five consecutive double-doubles.
She has averaged 17.8 points and 12.0 rebounds during that five-game
stretch.
ALL-TOURNEY
HONORS: Cassie Brannen, Nicole Chiodi and Jessie Slack
joined Healy on the Travel America Classic all-tournament team.
Brannen averaged 16.5 ppg and 9.0 rebounds during the two-day event.
The 6-1 junior post player enters this weekend with 597 career points
and 111 blocked shots.
Brannen, a Mount
Notre Dame High School graduate, needs 22 blocks to pass Janet Brungs
(132 blocked shots) and become NKU’s all-time career leader.
Chiodi averaged
4.5 assists and 3.0 steals in the two wins. Chiodi’s ballhandling
and decision-making also helped NKU constantly beat Fayetteville
State’s full-court pressure in the opener. The senior point
guard has scored 572 career points and dished out 262 assists.
Slack nearly
recorded a triple-double (12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists)
against St. Andrews and averaged 13.5 ppg in the two victories.
The junior guard averages 13.1 ppg and has connected on a team-leading
12 3-pointers.
 |
| ---Cassie
Brannen scores against St. Andrews. |
BLOCK
IT OUT: NKU leads the GLVC in blocked shots with an average
of 7.11 bpg. Four Norse - Healy, Brannen, Kendra Caldwell and Rachel
Lantry - are among the top 14 in the GLVC in blocks. Healy is No.
2 at 1.78 bpg, while Brannen is No. 4 at 1.56. Caldwell is tied
for ninth place (1.00), and Lantry is 14th at 0.89.
MAGIC
700: NKU’s victory against St. Andrews marked the
700th win in the program’s history. The Norse are now 701-270
in 34 seasons. NKU head coach Nancy Winstel has collected 528 of
those victories during the past 25 years.
ABOUT
GRAND VALLEY STATE: The Lakers are 7-4 overall, 3-0 in
the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Crystal Zick
leads Grand Valley State in scoring at 16.1 ppg. Erin Cyplik is
scoring 10.0 ppg for the Lakers, who are 2-3 against GLVC teams
this season.
THE
LAST TIME AGAINST GVSU: On Dec. 19, 2006, Grand Valley
State posted a 74-58 win over NKU in the Travel America Classic
in Regents Hall. Grand Valley State shot 62.5 percent from the field
in the first half to build a 38-22 lead, and NKU was unable to generate
any kind of rally after the break. The Lakers were 6-for-8 from
3-point range in the opening 20 minutes and used an early 13-2 run
to build a 15-6 lead.
The two main
culprits in the first half were Crystal Zick and Erika Ryskamp,
who combined for 26 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the field.
Zick had 17 of her game-high 27 points by the break, and Ryskamp
netted nine of her 15 in the first half.
Zick and Ryskamp
each drained a trio of 3-pointers in the first half. And neither
missed from long range during the opening 20 minutes. Brittany Winner
led NKU with 13 points, while Angela Healy and Karyn Creager each
scored 10.
NKU owns a 6-4
lead in the all-time series, but Grand Valley State has won the
last two meetings. In the 2006 NCAA Division II Tournament at Springfield,
Mo., the Lakers eliminated the Norse with a 91-70 victory.
NKU has not
defeated Grand Valley State since March 14, 2003, when the Norse
pulled out a 69-63 win in the NCAA Division II Tournament at Indianapolis,
Ind.
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