HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team will hit the road for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference games this weekend, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. Thursday contest at Quincy University.
NKU enters that contest with a seven-game winning streak and a 10-3 overall record. The Norse are 5-2 in the GLVC.
Quincy has won nine consecutive games going into Thursday, and the Lady Hawks own a 12-2 record. Quincy - which was the preseason favorite to capture the GLVC championship - is 6-1 in the GLVC and tied for first place with Bellarmine University.
NKU will conclude the road trip Saturday with a 2 p.m. game against Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Both games can be heard live on the radio on WTSJ (1050 AM).
MYERS NAMED GLVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: NKU’s Connie Myers has been named GLVC Player of the Week. Myers, a 5-foot-10 junior forward, averaged 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game to lead NKU to a pair of wins last week. Myers started with a 19-point, 11-rebound performance during an 87-46 victory against Kentucky Wesleyan College.
She capped the week with 22 points and 10 rebounds to key NKU’s 83-74 victory over the University of Southern Indiana. In that game, Myers scored nine of the Norse’s first 11 points as NKU built an 18-point lead in the first half and coasted to the triumph.
Myers also shot 64 percent (16-for-25) from the field and dished out six assists in the two victories. She enters Thursday night averaging 13.4 ppg (15th in the GLVC) and 6.7 rebounds per contest.
WINSTEL NEARS 450 VICTORIES: NKU head coach Nancy Winstel enters Thursday night with a 449 career wins with the Norse. Winstel, in her 21st season as the NKU mentor, is 449-143.
AUTOMATIC FROM THE LINE: NKU freshman Karyn Creager is shooting 88.6 percent from the free throw line this season, and she ranks No. 2 in the GLVC in that category. Creager hit 11-of-12 free throws on Saturday during NKU’s win over Southern Indiana. She finished with 16 points and six rebounds in that game.
For the season, Creager is 31-for-35 from the line. She averages 7.2 ppg and 3.7 rebounds.
NO. 1 IN DEFENSE: NKU enters Thursday ranked No. 1 in the GLVC in field goal percentage defense at .384. The Norse are also No. 1 in the GLVC in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to just 26.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
NKU is No. 2 in the GLVC in rebounding margin at +7.8 .
PERKINS NO. 3 IN THREE-POINTERS MADE: NKU junior guard Nikki Perkins ranks No. 3 in the GLVC in three-pointers made per game at 2.54. Perkins has connected on 33-of-69 attempts from beyond the arc, and she averages 12.8 ppg. Perkins also ranks No. 10 in the GLVC in assists per game at 3.69 apg.
ABOUT QUINCY: The Lady Hawks are led by junior forward Jessica Stuckman, who averages 17.9 ppg and 6.1 rebounds. Stuckman is also shooting 62.7 percent from the field.
Senior center Courtney VonderHaar is scoring 11.1 ppg and ranks No. 1 in the GLVC in blocked shots at 1.71 bpg. Senior forward Lisa Farrell averages 10.4 ppg.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST QUINCY: Earlier this season on Dec. 1, Jessica Stuckman scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Quincy defeated NKU, 76-59, in Regents Hall. Lindsay Anderson and Lisa Farrell each added 15 points for Quincy.
It was Quincy’s first-ever road victory against NKU, which owned a 7-0 record in Regents Hall against the Lady Hawks prior to that loss.
Quincy forced 10 NKU turnovers in the first half with its full-court pressure and took a 31-26 lead at the break. Anderson scored eight points for the Lady Hawks before halftime, while Farrell added seven points in the first half.
In the second half, Quincy shot 56.7 percent from the field and coasted to the victory. The Lady Hawks led by as many as 18 points and never trailed in the second half.
Nikki Perkins scored 16 points for NKU. The Norse made just 39.6 percent of their shots from the field and finished with 19 turnovers.
Tiffany Kelver scored 12 points, dished out five assists and had five steals for Quincy. Sharell Snardon scored eight points and grabbed 14 rebounds for NKU, and Jessica Brock added 10 points.
A YEAR AGO AT QUINCY: On Feb. 8, 2003, at Quincy, Ill., Amy Mobley scored six of her 15 points in the final three minutes as NKU rallied for a 71-63 win over Quincy at the Pepsi Arena.
Quincy jumped out to a 30-16 lead in the first half as Amber Dvorak scored nine points off the bench. NKU, however, used a 23-10 run to slice the deficit to 40-39 at halftime.
Tracy Grapenthin hit a three-pointer with 5:37 remaining in the game to give Quincy a 61-59 lead, but NKU responded with a 10-2 run to take a 69-63 advantage. Mobley scored six points to key the NKU spurt.
With the score tied at 63-63, Mobley grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. She made both free throws to give the Norse a 65-63 advantage with 2:56 left in the game. After Tiffany Kelver missed a short jumper, NKU’s Kristin Polosky hauled in the rebound. Mobley then gave the Norse a 67-63 lead with a driving layup, and Quincy - which did not hit a field goal during the final 5:37 of the game - never threatened again.
The Lady Hawks did not score during the final 3:15 of the game.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST SIUE: On Feb. 6, 2003, Ruth Kipping scored 26 points as SIUE defeated NKU, 70-67, at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Ill.
Liz DeShasier added 14 points as SIUE defeated NKU for the first time since Dec. 5, 1998. SIUE used the scoring of Kipping - who had 16 points in the first half - to pull off the upset. NKU trailed by seven points (65-58) with 3:04 remaining in the game, but the Norse used a 9-4 run to pull within 69-67 with 10 seconds left.
Amber Wisdom was fouled with 9.3 seconds remaining, and she converted one free throw to extend SIUE’s lead to 70-67. NKU had one final chance to send the game into overtime, but Mandy Sterling missed a three-point shot and time expired.
Jessica Brock came off the bench and collected a double-double (14 points, 13 rebounds) for NKU.
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