Northern Kentucky’s women’s basketball team released its full non-conference and conference schedule on Thursday. The Norse are eligible for NCAA postseason play this year following the completion of NKU’s four-year reclassification period to become a full Division I member institute.
“I know the 2016-17 schedule will be challenging, but it will help prepare our team for the conference,” commented first-year head coach Camryn Whitaker. “Our goal is to win Horizon League Championships and compete in the NCAA tournament, and this year’s schedule is designed to help us do that.”
Non-Conference Highlights
· NKU fans will be able to catch the first glimpse of the Norse when the team hosts Berea for an exhibition game on Nov. 8.
· The 2016-17 season opens up on Nov. 11, when the team will travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, for a tilt with Indiana State.
· NKU will host three non-conference opponents in 2016: Miami (OH) (Nov. 15), East Tennessee State (Nov. 26) and Murray State (Dec. 10).
· The Norse will travel to three more road opponents: Ohio (Nov. 21), Tennessee Tech (Dec. 4) and Indiana (Dec. 8).
· NKU’s non-conference slate will close out in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the Puerto Rico Classic. The Norse will play Portland State (Dec. 19), Arkansas State (Dec. 20) and Southern Miss (Dec. 21). The tournament also includes Cal, Kennesaw State, No. 24/23 Oklahoma and Xavier.
Horizon League Schedule
· The Norse will close out 2016 and open up Horizon League play with a road swing in the Badger State, starting with 2016 HL champion Green Bay (Dec. 29) before the final game of the calendar year against Milwaukee (Dec. 31).
· As part of the Horizon League’s home-and-home schedule, NKU will host all other nine League opponents as part of the 18-game slate.
· NKU’s home conference schedule is as follows: Cleveland State (Jan. 5), Youngstown State (Jan. 7), Wright State (Jan. 14), Oakland (Jan. 27), Detroit (Jan. 29), UIC (Feb. 9), Valparaiso (Feb. 11), Milwaukee (Feb. 24) and Green Bay (Feb. 26).
· The seven remaining road games are at Detroit (Jan. 16), Valparaiso (Jan. 20), UIC (Jan. 22), Wright State (Feb. 4), Youngstown State (Feb. 16), Cleveland State (Feb. 18) and Oakland (Feb. 20).
· Motor City Madness, the Horizon League’s championship tournament, will be held in Detroit on March 3-7 in conjunction with the men’s basketball championship.
Season Tickets
Season tickets are on sale now. For more information, call Micki Ford (859-572-7848) or go through TicketMaster.
Norse Notes
· NKU announced its fifth head coach in the storied history of the program when Camryn Whitaker was selected on May 6. Whitaker took the helm after spending time with national-ranked programs at Kentucky and Dayton, and appointed Kayla Bowlin, Josh Carrier and Matt Stine to her staff as assistant coaches.
· The Norse return a Horizon League All-Freshman selection in Molly Glick as well as HL All-Tournament honoree Kasey Uetrecht in the upcoming season. Glick started in 30 games during her rookie campaign, averaging 6.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Uetrecht, a junior this season, was the second-leading scorer for the Norse in the 2015-16 season, putting up 11.8 points per game while pulling down a team-high 5.7 rebounds a contest.
· NKU’s roster features three true freshmen in Hannah Clark, Hayley Combs and Laura Thomas. Redshirt-freshman Taryn Taugher will also be making her first appearance in the Gold and Black this year after sitting out the 2015-16 season.
From NKU Athletics