HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team will meet Grand Valley State University at 8 p.m. this Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament, which will be played at Indianapolis, Ind.
NKU is 21-7 and the No. 5 seed in the NCAA II Great Lakes Region, while Grand Valley State is 24-6 and the No. 4 seed. The University of Indianapolis (28-2) is the top seed and host for the NCAA II Great Lakes Region, and the Greyhounds will meet eighth-seeded Wayne (Mich.) State University at 6 p.m. Friday in the first round.
The NKU/Grand Valley State winner will meet either Indianapolis or Wayne State at 8 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals. The NCAA II Great Lakes Region championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday.
HISTORY ON NKU’S SIDE: NKU has won the NCAA II Great Lakes Region championship three times during the past four years to earn the trip to the NCAA II Elite Eight. A year ago, the Norse captured the Great Lakes Region title on the University of Southern Indiana’s home court in Evansville, Ind.
NKU posted consecutive wins against Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State and Southern Indiana to win the championship.
This is the fifth consecutive season that NKU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament. NKU owns a 14-12 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.
MOBLEY NEARS 10TH PLACE IN POINTS: NKU senior forward Amy Mobley is 11th on the Norse’s all-time scoring list with 1,318 career points. Mobley, who averages 15.4 points per game entering the GLVC Tournament, needs just nine points to move past Shannon Smith (1,326 points) into 10th place on the NKU all-time scoring list.
NKU TRIO NAMED ALL-GLVC: NKU’s Amy Mobley and Bridget Flanagan have both been named second team All-GLVC, while the Norse’s Kristin Polosky earned honorable mention All-GLVC accolades.
Flanagan, a senior guard, averages 14.1 ppg and has made 77 of 184 three-point attempts this season. Polosky, a senior forward, averages 9.3 ppg and leads the team with 43 blocked shots.
SNARDON NAMED GLVC ALL-TOURNAMENT: NKU freshman forward Sharell Snardon was named to the GLVC’s All-Tournament Team for her play last weekend. Snardon scored 15 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and came up with a key steal late in the game as the Norse defeated Wisconsin-Parkside, 71-67, in the first round.
She added 13 points and nine rebounds during NKU’s 66-54 loss to Quincy in the semifinals.
For the season, Snardon averages 9.3 ppg and 5.6 rebounds per game. She is also shooting 55.3 percent from the field.
NKU AGAINST THE NCAA II GREAT LAKES REGION FIELD: NKU is 4-5 this season against teams in the NCAA II Great Lakes Region field. The Norse are 0-2 against Indianapolis, 1-1 against Bellarmine, 1-0 against Wayne State, 0-1 against Grand Valley State and 2-1 against Quincy.
ABOUT GRAND VALLEY STATE: The Lakers are 24-6 after dropping a 67-60 decision to Lake Superior State in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship game last week. Grand Valley State is led by junior center Julie Zeeff, a first team All-GLIAC selection who averages 16.2 ppg and 7.7 rebounds. Zeeff is also shooting 50.1 percent from the field and has a school-record 90 blocked shots this season.
Senior guard Laurie Rehmann averages 13.7 ppg and 5.8 rpg, and she has made 46 of 137 three-point attempts. Jennifer Nielsen is scoring 9.7 ppg and has made a team-leading 63 three-point shots this season.
Grand Valley State University's Dawn Plitzuweit was named the 2002-03 GLIAC Coach of the Year.
EARLIER THIS SEASON AGAINST GRAND VALLEY STATE: In the season opener on Nov. 22 at Findlay, Ohio, Julie Zeeff scored 22 points and hit the winning shot with 13 seconds remaining as Grand Valley State defeated NKU, 63-62, in the first round of the University of Findlay Tip-Off Tournament.
Amy Mobley gave NKU a 62-61 lead with 39 seconds left with a conventional three-point play, but Zeeff converted a layup while being fouled as the Lakers gained a 63-62 advantage. Zeeff missed the free throw, and the Norse had a final chance to win the game in the closing seconds.
Bridget Flanagan’s three-point attempt was off the mark, however, and Grand Valley State escaped with the one-point victory.
Connie Myers scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds for NKU. Sharell Snardon added 13 points and eight rebounds in her NKU debut.
NKU made just 40.7 percent of its shots from the field, and the Norse committed 22 turnovers. Grand Valley State shot 41.3 percent from the field and won despite making just 8 of 16 free throws.
NCAA REPEAT FROM FOUR YEARS AGO: On March 5, 1999, in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament in Regents Hall, Michelle Cottrell scored 19 points and Julie Stanley added 18 points as NKU posted an 85-67 victory over Grand Valley State.
Cottrell also added 17 rebounds in that game. Michele Tuchfarber finished with 14 points for the Norse.
IF THEY MEET...: If NKU and Indianapolis both advance to Saturday’s semifinals, the Norse will attempt to stop a two-game losing streak against the Greyhounds. Indianapolis swept the season series with the Norse and won by an average margin of 14.5 points per game.
In their first meeting on Jan. 2, Kristen Lowry scored 22 points as Indianapolis defeated NKU, 69-50, at Nicoson Hall. Erin Moran added 14 points and four assists for Indianapolis, which snapped a 14-game losing streak against NKU. Amy Wisser scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Greyhounds beat NKU for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
The Greyhounds forced NKU into 25 turnovers and won the rebounding battle by a 36-28 margin. Indianapolis held a 32-29 halftime lead as Lowry scored 11 points.
NKU tied the game at 32-32 to begin the second half when Connie Myers hit a layup while being fouled and then converted the free throw. Indianapolis, however, used a 21-7 run to build a 53-39 lead with 10:17 remaining on a jumper by Emily Hammes. Lowry scored nine points to key the run for Indianapolis, which held NKU scoreless for nearly four minutes during that spurt.
NKU made just 38.9 percent of its shots from the field in the second half. The Norse also converted just 8 of 17 free throws for the game. Elizabeth Burrows led NKU with 12 points, and Myers added 10 points for the Norse. Sharell Snardon finished with nine points for NKU.
In the rematch at Regents Hall on Feb. 22, Moran and Wisser combined for 53 points as Indianapolis captured the GLVC regular-season title with an 85-75 win over NKU. Moran scored 27 points, while Wisser came off the bench and added 26 points.
Moran scored 16 points in the first half as Indianapolis took a 41-38 lead at the break. The Greyhounds started the second half by making six of their first eight shots and built a 60-47 lead with 12:45 remaining in the game.
NKU rallied and sliced the Indianapolis lead to 73-67 on a layup by Amy Mobley at the 6:20 mark. Indianapolis, however, used a 9-2 run over the next four minutes to build an 82-69 advantage. Wisser scored eight points to key the Greyhound spurt.
Mobley scored 22 points to lead NKU. The Norse shot 54 percent from the field, but NKU converted just 14 of 28 free throws. Bridget Flanagan added 16 points for NKU, and Sharell Snardon finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Bridget Flanagan