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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team begins play at the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament Friday night at 8:30 p.m. (Central time) in Springfield, Mo. NKU is the No. 4 seed and will meet No. 5 seed Indianapolis in the first round. The Norse are 22-8 and defeated the Greyhounds twice during the regular season. Indianapolis enters the NCAA Tournament with a 22-7 record. Drury is the No. 1 seed and host for the women’s Great Lakes Regional. The Lady Panthers meet eighth-seeded Bellarmine in the first round. The winner of that game will meet the NKU/Indianapolis survivor Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. (Central time) in the semifinals. The championship game is scheduled for 8 p.m. next Monday. All NKU games will be broadcast on WIOK (107.5 FM) and the Internet at www.nkunorse.com. NEAR-MISS: NKU dropped a 71-67 decision at Drury in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship game last Sunday in Springfield, Mo. Molly Carter and Lindsay Ballweg each scored 16 points to lead Drury past NKU. Carter’s basket with 2:01 remaining in the game snapped a 65-all tie and Drury held off NKU for its first-ever GLVC Tournament title. Ballweg made a pair of free throws with 0.9 seconds left to seal the win for the Lady Panthers. Carter was named the most outstanding player of the tournament for Drury, the defending regional champion. Jessie Slack led NKU with 19 points, while Nicole Chiodi finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Slack and Chiodi each were named to the GLVC’s all-tournament team. Danyelle Echoles added 15 points for the Norse, who rallied from a 56-46 deficit with 10:41 remaining to take a 65-64 lead with 2:55 left on the clock. NKU shot 48.9 percent from the field and made all 14 of its free-throw attempts. The Norse were 7-for-14 from 3-point range and won the rebounding battle by a 37-31 count, but 26 turnovers against the Drury pressure proved to be the difference. DRURY CONTAINS HEALY: Drury limited NKU senior center Angela Healy to four points before she fouled out late in the game. Healy, an All-GLVC and All-Great Lakes Region standout, grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots. The 6-foot-1 Healy averages 14.5 points and a GLVC-leading 9.5 rebounds per game. She enters the NCAA Tournament with 1,188 career points, which ranks 17th in Norse history. Healy also has 133 blocks, which is second in NKU history. REJECTION QUEEN: NKU junior post player Cassie Brannen leads the GLVC in blocked shots at 2.01 bpg. Brannen is NKU’s all-time career leader with 158 rejections going into the NCAA Tournament. The former Mount Notre Dame High School standout averages 12.7 points per game and has scored 850 points in her career. She also leads the GLVC in field-goal percentage at .554. NKU’S NCAA HISTORY: NKU owns a 20-16 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. Five 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. THE LAST TIME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: A year ago, Ferris State’s Teghan Thelen made a layup at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 70-69 win over NKU in the opening round of the Great Lakes Regional at Romeoville, Ill. After Angela Healy took a pass in the low post and powered in a shot to give NKU a 69-68 lead with 9.1 seconds left, Ferris State’s Sam Johns hurried a shot that missed the mark. Neither team could control the rebound, but Ferris State’s Audrey Thwing batted the loose ball just enough to find Thelen, who was alone on the right side underneath the basket. Thelen laid the ball in as time expired, giving the seventh-seeded Bulldogs the victory. AGAINST THE GREAT LAKES REGION FIELD: This season, NKU is 2-0 against Indianapolis, 0-2 against Drury, 1-1 against Bellarmine, 1-1 against Missouri S&T and 0-1 against Quincy. ABOUT INDIANAPOLIS: The Greyhounds feature senior forward Karla Mast, who averages 18.6 ppg. Forward Samantha Meissel averages 13.6 ppg and was named this season’s GLVC Freshman of the Year. THE LAST TIME AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: On Feb. 16, NKU rallied to defeat Indianapolis, 68-60, in the final regular-season game in Regents Hall history. Danyelle Echoles buried a 3-pointer with 4:15 remaining to give the Norse their first lead of the second half, and NKU held on. Echoles’ trey from the wing put the Norse up 60-57 and NKU made all eight of its free throws in the final 2:55 to preserve the lead. Before Echoles’ big shot, Jessie Slack made a 3-pointer from the wing one possession earlier to tie the game at 57-all. Echoles and Slack each later hit two free throws, while Angela Healy converted four free throws down the stretch. Earlier in the season on Jan. 10, NKU edged Indianapolis, 62-60, in Nicoson Hall. Slack scored 21 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining that gave the Norse a 62-60 lead. STREAK AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: NKU has beaten Indianapolis seven consecutive times. The Greyhounds have not defeated the Norse since Dec. 2, 2004, when Indianapolis posted a 61-58 win over NKU in Nicoson Hall.
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