NKU women ready for Atlantic Sun Conference Championship semifinal matchup with Stetson


The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team is set for its first Atlantic Sun Conference Championship semifinal matchup in program history against No. 3 Stetson in DeLand, Florida, on Wednesday.

Tipoff from the J. Ollie Edmunds Center is slated for 7 p.m. Links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com. Fans can track the game’s progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter as well.

NKU improved to 18-12 overall after handing No. 6 South Carolina Upstate a 64-45 loss in the opening round of the Atlantic Sun tournament in Regents Hall on Friday. Melody Doss led all scorers with 14 points and four rebounds, while fellow senior Kaitlyn Gerrety chipped in 13 points and seven boards to lead NKU in rebounds. Rianna Gayheart dished out a game-high eight assists for the Norse, who also finished with a 46-34 advantage on the glass.

Northern Kentucky's women's basketball team will make its first appearance in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament semifinals Wednesday, meeting Stetson (NKU Athletics Photo)
Northern Kentucky’s women’s basketball team will make its first appearance in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament semifinals Wednesday, meeting Stetson (NKU Athletics Photo)

The Norse took a 24-15 lead into the locker room at the half, but a 3-pointer by Raven Jefferson started the second half for USC Upstate, spurring an 8-1 run that closed the NKU lead to two (25-23) with 14:55 remaining in the game.

NKU recorded its first field goal at the 14:36 mark on a trey by Doss. A triple from Gayheart followed soon after, extending the Norse lead to 31-25 with 13:34 remaining. A 7-2 run for NKU re-opened the advantage to 11 (38-27) with 8:26 left, and the Spartans were unable to pull any closer than nine the rest of the way.

ABOUT STETSON: The Hatters improved to 23-6 on the year with a 92-69 victory over Lipscomb on March 6 in the opening round of the tournament. Brianti Saunders poured in a game-high 31 points to lead Stetson to the win, rounding out four players in double figures. Amber Porter added 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Aisha Turner finished with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the floor and Jama Sharp scored 12.

Sarah Sagerer pulled down a game-high 11 boards for the Hatters.
The Hatters boast four players averaging in double figures, led by Saunders’ 14.3 points per game. Sharp is adding 14.0 points as Myeisha Hall contributes 13.6 per contest. Porter averages 13.4 points and leads the team on the glass by pulling down 7.5 rebounds per game. Sharp has recorded 122 assists and 95 steals on the season.

As a team, Stetson is limiting its opponents to 35.2 percent shooting from the floor, which lands in the top 20 nationally. The Hatters average 72.6 points per contest to their opponents’ 58.8 to rank second in the Atlantic Sun in both categories.

Head coach Lynn Bria is in her seventh season at the helm for Stetson. Over her six seasons with the Hatters, the team has compiled a 108-87 record, including a 27-8 mark last season. In 2013-14, Stetson finished with a 16-2 record in the Atlantic Sun, finishing second in the conference, and earned a berth to the WNIT.

NKU-STETSON SERIES: Stetson holds a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series with NKU after both teams claimed home-court victories during the 2014-15 regular season. The Norse held off a second-half Hatters rally for a 68-62 victory on Jan. 29 in The Bank of Kentucky Center before the Hatters took a 73-56 in DeLand, Florida, two weeks later.

Stetson handed NKU a 62-39 defeat in the first ever meeting between the two programs on Jan. 21, 2013, before the Norse evened the series with a 73-68 victory in The Bank of Kentucky Center later that season. The Hatters took both matchups against the Norse last season, posting a 90-66 win in Highland Heights and a 74-57 victory in DeLand.

LAST TIME AGAINST STETSON: Myeisha Hall and Sarah Sagerer combined for 32 points to lead Stetson to a 73-56 victory over NKU on Feb. 14 in the Edmunds Center.

Sagerer finished with 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the floor, six rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists to lead the way for Stetson. Hall added 16 points, including four 3-pointers, two assists and one block. Brianti Saunders and Jama Sharp each posted 14-point, seven-rebound performances for the Hatters, who shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) from the field and 11-for-22 from 3-point range.

Melody Doss led NKU with 15 points and three rebounds, while Faith Sanders added a career-high 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor, including a trio of 3-pointers, and five rebounds. Shar’Rae Davis rounded out the double figure scorers for the Norse with 11 points, going 4-for-6 from the floor, and five rebounds.

Stetson held a 36-33 advantage after the first half, and the Hatters opened the second half with a 14-5 run to take a 52-38 lead with 11:32 on the clock behind long range shots from Turner, Hall, Saunders and Sagerer. Christine Roush drained a 3-pointer from the right side and Davis followed with a layup to cut the Norse deficit to 52-43 with 9:30 remaining, but Stetson answered with four-straight points to stretch its lead back to double digits at 56-43 one minute later.

A 7-2 run from NKU pulled the Norse to within 58-50 with 6:08 remaining in the game, but the Hatters pushed the lead back to 13 (63-50) on a trey from Hall and layup by DeAsia Beal with just over five minutes on the clock. Both teams struggled to score over the next three minutes before a Doss layup cut the NKU deficit to 63-52 with 2:35 left to play.

Sagerer knocked down two free throw attempts on the next Stetson possession, and Davis answered with a layup on the other end of the court to bring the Norse to within 65-54 but the Norse were unable to get any closer the rest of the way.

WEDNESDAY RECORDS: NKU is 3-2 this season in games played on Wednesday. The Norse opened midweek play on Nov. 19 at Illinois State and handed the Redbirds a 59-48 loss. NKU also faced then-No. 13 Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, on Dec. 3 and suffered an 82-64 setback before defeating Cincinnati, 66-52, in The Bank of Kentucky Center. The Norse faced one Atlantic Sun opponent twice on Wednesday night, splitting a pair of decisions against Kennesaw State. The Owls claimed a 66-58 victory on their home court before NKU earned a 68-61 victory on Feb. 25.

Three players have averaged in double figures on Wednesdays, led by Melody Doss’ 12.6 points per games. Christine Roush added 11.6 points and went 13-for-14 from the free-throw line against Wednesday opponents, while Kelley Wiegman averaged 10.6 points per contest and shot 58.3 (7-for-12) from 3-point territory. Kaitlyn Gerrety pulled down a team-leading 6.0 rebounds per game, while Rianna Gayheart dished out 3.6 assists on Wednesdays.

UP NEXT: The winner of the NKU-Stetson matchup on Wednesday will face the winner of the No. 1 Florida Gulf Coast-No. 4 Jacksonville contest in the Atlantic Sun Conference championship game Sunday with the highest advancing seed hosting the title game. If the Norse advance, links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast will be posted to NKUNorse.com, and fans can also visit http://www.nkunorse.com/postseason as more information becomes available.

From NKU Athletics


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