Preview: Women’s team hosts Cleveland State on Senior Day

The NKU women’s basketball team hosts Cleveland State Vikings Sunday, Feb. 24 at BB&T Arena. This will be the final home game of the season and honor senior guard Taryn Taugher. The game will also be NKU’s pink game, the Norse partner with the Pink Ribbon Girls, an organization that provides various services to individuals with breast and gynecological cancers.

NKU sits at sixth in the Horizon League with an 8-17 record on the season and 7-8 in the conference. After a thrilling win on Friday night against Youngstown State, the Norse are looking to continue the five game home win streak against Cleveland. The Vikings are right under the Norse in 7th place with a 10-17 overall record and a 7-9 record in the league.

In the last match the Vikings won 76-47. None of the Norse scored within double digits in the loss. Sophomore forward Emmy Souder led with 9 points. Sophomore forward Grayson Rose and freshman point guard duo Taylor Clos and Ally Niece scored 8 points a piece.

Cleveland State had four players in double digits. Including junior guard Mariah Miller who had 21 on the game, who’s second in the Horizon League in scoring with an average of 15.9 points per game. Sophomore guard Mariah White and freshman forward Savannah Crockett scored 15 a piece. White is number three in the league in field goal percentage with 46.3 percent. Miller follows White, she holds number four in the league in field goal percentage at 40.4 percent.

Rebounding for the Norse looks promising with being number four in the league with a rebounding margin of 4.5. Cleveland State sits at seventh with a margin of -0.8. However the number three rebounder in the Horizon League is Crockett with an average of 8.8 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Kailey Coffey follows as number four in the league with an average of 8.1 rebounds per game.

Offensively the Norse can hold their own with Glick holding number 5 in the league in three point field goal percentage with an average of 1.9 per game. The Norse field goal percentage at 29.3 percent on the season, while the Vikings hold 28.7 percent on the season. The Norse hold one percentage point above the Vikings in free throw percentage on the season at 67.2 percent.

In the all-time series Cleveland State leads with 6-3 and has won the past five meetings. The game is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcasted on ESPN+.