The “second season” begins on Thursday afternoon for the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team as the Norse are set to take on Cleveland State in the opening round of the Horizon League Championship, contested at the Kress Events Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, with the action carried live on ESPN3.
2016 Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship
No. 8 Cleveland State University Vikings (9-19, 6-12 Horizon)
No. 5 Northern Kentucky University Norse (17-12, 9-9 Horizon)
March 10 – 2:30 p.m. CT (3:30 p.m. ET) (approx.)
Kress Events Center (3,000) – Green Bay, Wis.
TV: ESPN3 // Matt Menzl (play-by-play) and Bill Scott (color)
Series History: NKU leads, 2-1
Fast Break Points
• NKU opens the 2016 Horizon League Championship as the No. 5 seed, and faces Cleveland State in a rematch from last week.
• It marks the second-straight year NKU has played a team in back-to-back games (USC Upstate, Feb. 28 and March 6, 2015).
• NKU has averaged 72.3 points per game this season to rank third among Horizon League squads.
• NKU’s overall turnover margin of +3.7 ranks second in the Horizon League and 38th in the nation.
• The Norse have forced 15 or more turnovers in 25 of their 29 regular-season games, and have forced 96 errors in their last five games.
• The Norse rank fourth in the League in FG shooting (41.8%) and lead the League in 3-point (35.3%) and FT shooting (78.9%).
• NKU’s 78.9 percent free-throw accuracy ranks third among all Division I programs.
• The Norse are knocking down 8.1 treys per game, ranking second among Horizon League squads.
• G Christine Roush was named to the All-Horizon League First Team on Monday, leading the team and ranking third in the League with 16.8 PPG.
• With 486 points, Christine Roush lays claim to NKU’s highest season scoring total in the Division I era.
• Christine Roush leads the league and the nation in free-throw shooting (92.1%) and ranks third in the league in three-point shooting (40.2%).
• F Molly Glick was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team, averaging 5.9 points in Leauge play.
• Glick has knocked down 40 percent of her three-point chances in Horizon League play, ranking second on the team.
• F Courtney Roush is one of the Horizon League’s most efficient shooters, ranking third overall (55.3%) and fourth in League games (53.0%).
• F Kasey Uetrecht (155) and F Rebecca Lyttle (149) are sixth and eighth, respectively, on NKU’s Division I season rebounding list.
Last Time Out – Ashanti Abshaw’s buzzer-beating jumper handed Cleveland State a 64-62 victory over NKU to close out the regular season on March 5. Abshaw finished with a game-high 32 points and 14 rebounds to pace the Vikings. Christine Roush led the Norse with 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting and Kasey Uetrecht added 17 points.
About Cleveland State – The Vikings continue their hot streak, having won four of their last five games to finish 6-12 in Horizon League play. Freshman Ashanti Abshaw was named Horizon League Freshman of the Year, averaging 16.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game to lead the Vikings. Khayla Livingston is averaging 11.0 points as the team’s top three-point shooter, connecting on 40.4 percent of her shots from long range.
The Series – NKU fell to 2-1 in the all-time series with last Saturday’s loss. Earlier this year, the Norse took an 83-51 win over Cleveland State at the Wolstein Center. Christine and Courtney Roush combined for 48 of NKU’s 83 points, with Christine Roush posting a team-best 26 and Courtney Roush dropping a then career-high 22 points in the win. Kelley Wiegman added 11 points and Kasey Uetrecht chipped in 10 points.
Climbing the Ranks – Christine Roush continues to climb the ranks of elite scorers in NKU history. In the regular-season finale against Cleveland State, Roush passed Melody Doss to turn in NKU’s highest single-season scoring total in the Division I era with 486 points and counting. Roush also passed the 1,400-point mark on her career, vaulting into the top 10 among NKU scorers all time at No. 9. Roush needs 18 points to pass Pam King for eighth on the all-time list.
Working for Free – NKU has stood as one of the nation’s top free-throw shooting teams this year. Entering the Horizon League Championship, the Norse are knocking down 78.9 percent of their chances from the charity stripe, leading the Horizon League and ranking third in the nation (though not included in the national statistics during their final year of transition).
Additionally Christine Roush stands as the nation’s top free-throw shooter, connecting on 92.1 percent of her tries with 82 makes in 89 attempts.
Postseason Honors – Two NKU players finished the season with high praise from the Horizon League. Christine Roush was named to the All-League First Team, averaging 16.4 points per game and hitting 40.2 percent of her three-point tries to rank third in the League in each category. Molly Glick was also named to the League’s All-Freshman Team, scoring 6.3 points per game and playing tenacious defense, with 27 steals on the year.
From NKU Athletics