Norse begin big two-game road trip in Milwaukee

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Matt Sexton

Rebecca Lyttle (3) fights through two defenders Thursday in NKU’s win over Detroit.

The Northern Kentucky Women’s basketball team travels north for the second to last road game of the regular season tonight  when they face Milwaukee tonight.

The Panthers are currently third in the Horizon League and are one game ahead of the Norse in the standings, who moved up to fourth in the standings last weekend.

In the first meeting of the season, the Panthers came into BB&T Arena and crushed the Norse, beating them 86-60. The Panthers had four players in double figures in the game, including Sierra Ford-Washington and Steph Kostowicz who scored 21 and 23 respectively.

The Norse only shot 25 percent for the game and Christine Roush only scored 10 points in the game, while Kelley Wiegman was the only other Norse in double figures.

Milwaukee has four players who average double figures and shoot nearly 40 percent from the field. Kostowicz was named Horizon League player of the week after scoring 27 points and recording 12 rebounds in a win against Valparaiso and 24 points against UIC last week. Ford-Washington averages nearly 13 points per game and has 53 assists on the season.   

The Norse have won six out of their last seven games and have scored 80 points in back-to-back games, including a 26-point victory against Oakland. The Norse defense has also stepped up during this streak, turning their opponents over 85 times in the last 5 games.

Three point shooting continues to be the strength for this team, knocking down 8.2 three pointers per game, which is second in the Horizon League, and continue to lead the league in three point percentage with 36.2 percent.

Christine and Courtney Roush continue to shine this season. They are averaging 16.6 and 9.9 points per game respectively. Against Oakland, they combined for 40 points in the game, half of the team’s points.

Rianna Gayheart leads the team in assists with 77 and looks to keep climbing the NKU all time list, where she currently ranks 12th.

A win tonight will put the Norse in a tie for third place in the Horizon League standings and will give the Norse a huge boost of confidence when they travel to Green Bay on Saturday, who are first in the Horizon League and have only lost one league game.