The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team begins its final weekend of regular-season play on Thursday night when the Norse welcome Youngstown State to BB&T Arena for a Horizon League contest.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. with the action carried live on ESPN3.
Game Information
Youngstown State University Penguins (18-9, 9-7 Horizon)
Northern Kentucky University Norse (16-11, 8-8 Horizon)
March 3 – 7 p.m.
BB&T Arena (9,400) – Highland Heights, Ky.
TV: ESPN3 / Betsy Ross (play-by-play) and Kaitlyn Gerrety (analyst)
Series History: NKU leads, 2-1
Last Time Out – Christine Roush scored 14 points and Kasey Uetrecht added 12 points and five rebounds as Green Bay claimed a 52-40 victory over NKU on Saturday in a defensive struggle. Mehryn Kraker had 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting to lead Green Bay, and Jessica Lindstrom picked up a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
About Youngstown State – The Penguins are 18-9 overall on the year and stand fifth in the Horizon League with a 9-7 record after sweeping weekend action against UIC and Valparaiso. Sarah Cash leads the Youngstown scoring effort with 14.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Nikki Arbanas chips in 11.3 points per game, and Indiya Benjamin adds 9.5 points on 40.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc along with a League-best 5.2 assists per game.
The Series – NKU claimed a 2-1 lead in the all-time series between the teams by capitalizing on a 58 percent shooting effort to take an 88-77 win over Youngstown State on Jan. 30. Courtney Roush led NKU with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and a perfect 7-for-7 mark from the free-throw line. Shar’Rae Davis followed up with 16 points while Kasey Uetrecht put in 14 points.
Christine Roush went 6-for-8 from the field for 13 points and Sarah Kinch finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine boards.
Fast break points
• The Norse stand sixth in the Horizon League standings at 8-8 with two games remaining.
• NKU can finish no lower than sixth in the standings and can climb as high as a No. 5 seed in next week’s Horizon League Championship.
• NKU has averaged 72.8 points per game this season to rank third among Horizon League squads.
• NKU’s overall turnover margin of +3.4 ranks second in the Horizon League and 37th in the nation.
• The Norse have forced 15 or more turnovers in 23 of their 27 games this season, and have forced 88 errors in their last five games.
• The Norse rank third in the League in FG shooting (42.0%) and lead the League in 3-point (35.6%) and FT shooting (78.4%).
• NKU’s 78.4 percent free-throw accuracy ranks fourth among all Division I programs.
• The Norse are knocking down 8.1 treys per game, ranking second among Horizon League squads.
• G Christine Roush leads the Norse and ranks third in the Horizon League, scoring 16.6 points per game.
• With 448 points, Christine Roush needs 21 points to claim NKU’s highest season scoring total in the Division I era.
• Christine Roush leads the league in free-throw shooting (91.6%) and ranks third in the league in three-point shooting (40.7%).
• F Courtney Roush is one of the Horizon League’s most efficient shooters, ranking third overall (55.3%) and fourth in League games (52.8%).
• F Molly Glick ranks fourth in Horizon League games for three-point shooting, hitting at a 42.9% clip.
• Glick has started 25 games this season, one shy of Christine Roush’s 26 starts as a freshman in 2012-13.
• F Kasey Uetrecht (145) and F Rebecca Lyttle (142) are eighth and ninth, respectively, on NKU’s Division I season rebounding list.
From NKU Athletics