The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team opens up the holiday season with home nonconference action as the Norse take on Tennessee Tech for a Black Friday showdown.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., with the action live on ESPN3 and live stats available at NKUStats.com.
Tennessee Tech University Golden Eagles (2-2)
Northern Kentucky University Norse (3-1)
Friday, Nov. 27 – 7 p.m.
BB&T Arena (9,400) – Highland Heights, Ky.
TV: ESPN3 – Andrew Kappes (PBP) and Brady Laber (Analyst)
Series History: (all-time) NKU leads, 1-0; (since 2012-13) First meeting
Christine Roush scored a season-high 27 points and helped drive a fast-and-furious second half that saw the Norse defeat Marquette by an 83-78 final score on Saturday night. Roush scored 18 points following the halftime break, going 6 for 10 from the field and knocking down three treys.
Northern Kentucky is off to its best season start in the Division I era at 3-1. The Norse started at 2-2 in each of the last two seasons (NKU Athletics Photo)
Kasey Uetrecht added 16 points and Rebecca Lyttle picked up her second double-double in as many games with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
As a team, the Norse shot 50 percent (28-for-56) from the field, and 64 percent (16-for-25) in the second half.
The Golden Eagles enter Friday’s contest on a two-game winning streak, having defeated Georgia State and Lipscomb in back-to-back contests to close out a four-game home stand to start the season. Samaria Howard has been the driving force for the Tech offense, averaging 19.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Howard was named the OVC Player of the Week after scoring 31 points and pulling down seven rebounds in an 81-70 win over Lipscomb.
Hannah Goolsby stands as the Eagles’ sharpshooter, going 4-for-9 from long range against Lipscomb, while Alliyah Smith’s 13 points and nine rebounds established a presence in the paint.
Friday will mark just the second time the Norse and Golden Eagles have met on the basketball court, and the first since NKU’s reclassification to Division I in 2012. In their previous meeting, NKU claimed a 69-60 victory in Regents Hall over TTU during ithe 1981-82 season.
Friday is NKU’s only matchup against an OVC school this season, and the first for the Norse since the 2013-14 season, when NKU defeated UT Martin, 70-61, in a neutral-site matchup at Robert Morris.
Christine Roush joined a rarified club in the win against Marquette, netting her 1,000th career point in the fourth quarter and becoming the 29th NKU player to reach the milestone.
The basket was a turning point in the game as well, putting the Norse ahead 70-61 against the Golden Eagles and swinging the momentum for NKU to take the win.
Roush now needs just three points to pass Jesse Slack (2007-09) for 28th on the career scoring list.
Rebecca Lyttle has been getting her work done in the post on both sides of the floor, picking up her second consecutive double-double in the win over Marquette. Lyttle posted 11 points and 14 rebounds in the game as NKU picked up a five-point victory.
Lyttle became the first player in NKU’s Division-I era to post back-to-back double-doubles, and the first since Brandi Rayburn did so in games against Lake Erie and Kentucky Wesleyan during the 2008-09 season.
Notes:
• Northern Kentucky is off to its best season start in the Division I era at 3-1. The Norse started at 2-2 in each of the last two seasons.
• A win over TTU would give the Norse their first 3-0 home start since the 2011-12 season, and their first in the Division I era.
• NKU shot 64.3 percent from the field in the third quarter against Marquette, their best shooting quarter this season.
• As of the completion of Monday’s games, NKU ranked third in the Horizon League in scoring at 73.8 points per game.
• NKU ranks fifth in the League in shooting (40.8 percent) and third in 3-point shooting (35.1 percent).
• NKU also ranks third in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by an average of 5.8 per game.
• F Molly Glick was honored on Monday as the Horizon League’s Freshman of the Week for her performance against Cincinnati and Marquette.
• Glick averaged 9.5 points and four rebounds per game and is the first NKU Freshman of the Week since G Kelley Wiegman in 2013-14.
• G Chrisitine Roush stands third in the league in scoring at 21.3 points per game, and scored her 1,000th career point in Saturday’s win.
• Roush is the 29th member of NKU’s 1,000-point club and needs just three points to pass Jesse Slack for 28th on the scoring list.
• F Rebecca Lyttle stands second in the Horizon League in rebounding with 11.5 boards per game.
• Lyttle is one of three players in the Horizon League averaging a double-double per game (14.3 points, 11.5 rebounds).
• G Rianna Gayheart has piled up 15 assists on the season, and her assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third in the League (3.8).
• G Kelley Wiegman posted a season-high seven points, fiive rebounds and three assists against Marquette.
• F Kasey Uetrecht continues to lead the Norse in outside shooting, hitting half (7-of-14) of her three-point attempts on the year.
From NKU Athletics
