HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's basketball team opens Atlantic Sun Conference Championship action with a first-round home contest against South Carolina Upstate on Friday.
 
NKU enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed after posting a 17-12 overall and an 8-6 mark in the Atlantic Sun, while USC Upstate is the No. 6 seed, finishing the regular season 14-15 with a 6-8 record in conference play.  Tipoff from Regents Hall is slated for 7 p.m.  A link to live stats is available at nku.statbroadcast.com, and the ESPN3 broadcast can be found at NKUNorse.com/ESPN3.  Fans can also follow the game's progress by keeping an eye on @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.
 
NKU ended the regular-season portion of its schedule with an 83-60 victory over USC Upstate on Saturday in Spartanburg, S.C.  Christine Roush poured in a game-high 26 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor, including a 5-for-9 effort from long range, to lead the Norse, while Kaitlyn Gerrety added her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The Norse used a 21-2 run over an 11-minute stretch in the first half to take a 31-11 advantage with 4:34 left in the opening half, but the Spartans used an 11-2 run, capped by a Brittany Clency jumper, of their own to pull to within 33-22 with 12 seconds left.  Kasey Uetrecht, however, sunk a buzzer-beating shot at the other end of the court to give NKU a 35-22 lead at the break, and USC Upstate  was unable to get any closer than 10 (50-40) in the second half.
 
ABOUT USC UPSTATE: The Spartans bring a 14-15 overall record to Highland Heights and finished conference play at 6-8 after dropping an 83-60 decision to NKU on Senior Day Saturday.  Maddie Herr poured in a career-high 20 points, going 5-for-9 from 3-point territory, to lead three players in double figures.  Brittany Starling added 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Sharmayne Edwards finished with 14 points.
 
Edwards is averaging 13.4 points to lead the USC Upstate offense, and she has dished out 54 assists and collected 23 steals.  Brittany Starling is adding 12.5 points and a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per contest, while Brittany Clency contributes 9.3 points and 2.7 assists per game.  Travonda Haddock has turned away 26 opponent shot attempts for the Spartan defense, and Raven Jefferson has taken the ball away from the other team 36 times.
 
Head coach Tammy George is 129-155 in her 10th season with the Spartans.  Last year, she guided the Spartans to a 17-15 overall record and an 11-7 in mark in the Atlantic Sun, earning a berth into the Women's Basketball Invitational.  Prior to taking the helm at USC Upstate, she spent two seasons with Brevard College, where she posted a 43-21 mark.  Over her 12 seasons leading collegiate teams, George is 172-176.
 
NKU-USC UPSTATE SERIES: NKU holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series with USC Upstate after handing the Spartans an 83-60 loss in Hodge Center on Feb. 28 to complete the season sweep.  The Norse also defeated USC Upstate, 77-74, in The Bank of Kentucky Center on Jan. 17. 
 
The Norse opened the home portion of their first Atlantic Sun season in 2012-13 with a 70-62 victory over the Spartans before earning an 81-61 win in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in their inaugural NCAA Division I season in 2012-13.  One year ago, NKU began its conference slate by defeating USC Upstate, 76-60, and the Norse later posted a 71-58 victory in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
 
CONFERENCE HONORS: Two NKU players earned conference honors this week.  Melody Doss and Christine Roush were both named to the All-Atlantic Sun second team, and Roush also added her second-straight Academic All-Atlantic Sun honor on Thursday morning.  The pair accounted for the team's top two scorers and helped the Norse capture their 32nd consecutive winning season with a 68-61 victory over Kennesaw State in The Bank of Kentucky Center on Feb. 25.
 
Doss, a senior forward from Greenwood, Indiana, enters the Atlantic Sun Championship as the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.6 points per game, and she pulled down 4.7 rebounds for the Norse as well.  Roush, a junior guard from Louisville, Kentucky, brings a 13.2 scoring average into postseason play, and she leads the team and the Atlantic Sun in free-throw shooting at 87.2 percent (109-for-125) and 3-point accuracy, knocking down 37.0 percent (54-for-146) of her attempts from long range. 
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Kaitlyn Gerrety scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high and career-high-tying 11 rebounds to help lead NKU to an 83-60 victory over USC Upstate on Saturday afternoon.  It marked her second double-double of the season and the third of her career.  Gerrety accomplished the feat against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 29, adding 11 points and 10 rebounds in a 66-58 Norse win.
 
This season, NKU is 4-2 when a player contributes a double-double.  Melody Doss has recorded three, starting with a 16-point, 11-rebound effort in a win at Marquette on Dec. 15, but her other two double-doubles came against Wright State (17 points, 14 rebounds) on Jan. 3 and at North Florida (18 points, 10 rebounds) on Jan. 22.  Christine Roush recorded her first-career double-double in a 68-62 victory over Stetson on Jan. 29.
 
REGENTS HALL HISTORY: NKU will play in Regents Hall for the second time this season.  Two weeks ago, the Norse handed North Florida a 67-29 loss in Regents Hall.  The 38-point margin of victory is the team's largest since beginning the NCAA Division I transition, topping a 33-point (66-33) victory against Lipscomb on Jan. 12, 2013.
 
The Norse called Regents Hall their home from 1974-75 the end of the 2007-08 season.  In addition to its North Florida win on Feb. 21, NKU also claimed a 71-54 victory over Bellarmine on Feb. 26, 2009, since moving its home court to The Bank of Kentucky Center.  The Norse boast a 392-90 (.813) record overall in Regents Hall.
 
FRIDAY SUCCESS: NKU has played three games this season on Friday and are 3-0 in those contests.  The Norse opened the 2014-15 season with an impressive 76-55 victory over Delaware State in the Akron Classic on Nov. 14.  In the opening day of the Navy Classic on Nov. 28, NKU overcame an eight-point (28-20) halftime deficit for a 52-45 win over Grand Canyon.  The Norse ended a three-game stretch over a five day period by posting a 63-58 decision over Delaware.
 
Melody Doss averaged 16.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in Friday contests this season, shooting 17-for-28 (.607) from the floor and 5-for-7 (.714) from long range.  Christine Roush added 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots for the Norse, while Faith Sanders and Kaitlyn Gerrety each averaged 6.7 points.  Kelley Wiegman dished out 12 assists against NKU's Friday opponents.
 
UP NEXT: The winner of the No. 3 NKU-No. 6 USC Upstate game will face the winner of the No. 2 Stetson-No.7 Lipscomb matchup.  The semifinal round will take place on the campus of the highest advancing seed.  If the Norse advance, links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast will be posted to NKUNorse.com, and fans can also visit http://www.nkunorse.com/postseason as more information becomes available.