The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team will face the Mastodons from IPFW in the second game of a seven-game home stand Saturday at 7 p.m.
IPFW brings a 3-4 mark into the contest while the Norse are 5-2. The telecast will be available on ESPN3 with Brady Laber and Terry Nelson with the call.
NKU led Kentucky by four at halftime before the 11th ranked Wildcats pulled away in the third quarter (UK Athletics Photo)
Last time out: Sarah Kinch matched her career high with 16 points against No. 10/11 ranked Kentucky. Rianna Gayheart scored 14 points and went 4-for-5 from long range. Both players came off the bench and provided a spark that saw NKU take a 41-37 lead at the half.
Kasey Uetrecht, Christine Roush, and Molly Franson each scored eight points, seven points, and six points, respectively. The Norse shot 53.3 percent from three-point range in the first half. NKU shot 70.6 percent from the free throw line and continues to lead the league in that category at 77.7 percent.
About IPFW: IPFW comes into Saturday’s game against the Norse with a 3-4 record on the year. They have lost their last four matchups including a 52-79 loss at the hands of Ohio in their last game. Their three wins on the year have come against Trine, Grace (Ind.), and Kent State. They are averaging 73.1 points per game and are holding their opponents to 68.7 points per game.
Kamilah Carter leads the Mastodons in scoring with 18.0 points per game. The next leading scorer on the IPFW squad is Josie Fisher who is averaging 12.6 points per game. Courtney Ogle leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 boards per game.
The Series: The Norse lead the all-time series against IPFW with a 28-8 advantage. The two teams met last season in a game that resulted in a 65-59 loss for NKU. The Norse placed four players in double figures; Melody Doss scored 18 points while Kelley Wiegman and Christine Roush scored 11 points and Kaitlyn Gerrety chipped in 10 points.
Haley Seibert led all scorers that night with 19 points. Her teammates, Rachel Rinehart and Keanna Gary, scored 13 and 12 each. NKU was 22-for-27 from the free throw line in the game to finish at 81.5 percent. IPFW went 19-for-26 from the free throw line giving them a mark of 73.1 percent for the game.
100th Game: Saturday’s game against IPFW will mark Coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s 100th game as head coach at Northern Kentucky University. In her career at NKU, she has a winning percentage of .576 after a 5-2 start to the current season.
The game against IPFW will also be the 100th career game for senior guard Christine Roush. In her career as a Norse, she has averaged 11.6 points per game and is shooting a career average of 38.7 percent from three-point range. In the 2014-15 season she was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference Second Team and the Academic All-Atlantic Sun Conference.
Last season she ranked 17th nationally in free-throw percentage after going 115-for-131. Her 1,038 career points rank her 27th in NKU history with the chance to move higher on the list as the season progresses.
Fast Break Points
• Northern Kentucky’s 5-2 start matches its best since the 2011-12 season when NKU was 5-2 through seven games to start the season.
• NKU held a 41-37 halftime lead against the University of Kentucky on Wednesday before eventually losing 84-65.
• NKU went 12-for-17 from the free throw line against Kentucky but fell just short of its previous season average of 78.6 percent.
• NKU’s bench outscored the Wildcats’ reserves, 37-19, with G Sarah Kinch and G Rianna Gayheart scoring 16 and 14, respectively.
• NKU leads the Horizon League in free throw shooting with a percentage of 77.7 percent.
• NKU enters the game ranked 78th in the RPI rankings for Division I women’s college basketball. The previous high was 50th.
• Northern Kentucky is second in the Horizon League in three-point percentage with 39.9 percent.
• NKU has the third ranked scoring offense in the Horizon League with 74.3 points per game.
• Wednesday’s game against Kentucky marked a record crowd for NKU women’s basketball, with 4,084 fans in attendance.
• Kinch matched a career high against Kentucky with 16 points. She had 13 in the first half alone.
• Kinch scored the first eight points of the game for the Norse after Kentucky jumped out to an early lead.
• Gayheart shot 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from three-point range against Kentucky to give her 14 points on the night.
• F Kasey Uetrecht had eight points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals against Kentucky.
• Uetrecht’s three assists, two blocks and seven three-point attempts against Kentucky all marked career highs.
• G Christine Roush scored seven points in the game against Kentucky and continues to rank fourth in the League in scoring with 17.0 points per game.
• In her first two career starts over the last two games, F/C Molly Franson has averaged 26 minutes, 11 points and five rebounds.
From NKU Athletics
