March 7, 2000
NORSE TO HOST NCAA II TOURNAMENT
NKU (27-2) to meet MTU/Gannon winner on Friday
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team enters the NCAA Division II Tournament with 19 consecutive wins after capturing the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship last week.
The Norse defeated the University of Indianapolis, 77-57, in the GLVC Tournament championship game at Evansville, Ind. NKU is now 27-2 overall and ranked No. 2 nationally in the WBCA Division II poll.
NKU is the No. 1 seed and host for the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament. The Norse will play at 7:45 p.m. this Friday night against the winner of the Michigan Tech/Gannon (Pa.) first-round game.
Michigan Tech, the No. 4 seed, will face fifth-seeded Gannon at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday. In the other bracket, No. 2 seeded Northern Michigan will face the winner of the Ferris State/Missouri-St. Louis game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
GLVC TOURNAMENT MVP: Junior guard Michele Tuchfarber was named the most valuable player of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament last week after scoring 21 points in the championship game against Indianapolis. Tuchfarber averages 13.1 points per game and 4.1 rebounds for the season.
Last season, Tuchfarber was named the most outstanding player of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament after scoring 19 points during NKU’s 65-63 win over Michigan Tech in the championship game.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Sophomore forward Michelle Cottrell enters the NCAA Tournament with 10 double-doubles this season, and she has 24 double-doubles in her career. Cottrell has scored in double figures in 27 of the team’s 29 games this season.
For the season, Cottrell leads NKU in scoring at 17.0 ppg, and she is No. 1 in the GLVC in rebounding at 9.1 rpg. Cottrell is also No. 1 in the GLVC in field goal percentage (.573), and she leads NKU with 60 steals.
BUZZER BEATER: A year ago, Michelle Cottrell’s basket at the buzzer gave NKU a 65-63 win against Michigan Tech in the championship game of the Great Lakes Region Tournament. Cottrell grabbed an offensive rebound on that play, and scored on a layup as time expired to send NKU to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight at Pine Bluff, Ark.
STREAKING TO THE FINAL FOUR AGAIN?: A year ago, NKU won 22 consecutive games en route to the NCAA Division II Final Four. The Norse enter the NCAA Tournament with 19 straight victories, which is six short of the school record (25 consecutive wins during the 1975-76 season).
If the Norse can equal last season’s 22 consecutive wins, it would once again land them in the NCAA Division II Final Four. NKU would have to win two in the Great Lakes Region, and one in the Elite Eight to reach 22 straight wins. That would put NKU in the Final Four with 22 consecutive victories.
BOMBS AWAY: NKU features the GLVC’s top two three-point shooters in freshman forward/guard Bridget Flanagan and junior guard Heather Livingstone. Flanagan has made 38 of 69 (.551) three-point attempts, while Livingstone is 59 of 113 (.522) from three-point range.
INSIDE FORCE: NKU freshman Amy Mobley has emerged into one of the GLVC’s top inside players. Mobley leads NKU with 34 blocked shots, and she also averages 7.0 rebounds per game. Mobley is scoring 8.3 ppg, and she also has 68 assists.
NKU AGAINST THE NCAA FIELD: NKU owns a 4-1 record against teams that qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament. NKU posted two wins against Missouri-St. Louis, and the Norse defeated both Lander (S.C.) and Tampa. NKU also lost to Florida Southern at Lakeland, Fla., back in December.
NKU ALL-TIME AGAINST THE GREAT LAKES REGION FIELD: NKU is 1-0 against Gannon, 1-2 against Northern Michigan, 1-0 against Michigan Tech, 5-1 against Missouri-St. Louis, and 3-0 against Ferris State.