Tuesday, February 15, 2000
Norse women want return to Final Four
BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Valentine's Day came and went at Northern Kentucky University with 11 women craving more jewelry.
Don't call them greedy.
Call them the basketball team.
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NKU TODAY
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• Men: No.22 NKU (20-4, 12-3 GLVC) vs. Indianapolis (14-7, 10-5), 7:45 p.m.
• Women: No.4 NKU (19-2, 14-1) vs. Indianapolis (12-9, 6-9), 5:30 p.m.
• Where: Regents Hall, Highland Heights
• TV: Insight Ch.6
• Radio: WTSJ-AM (1050)
• Men's notes: Junior guard Brian Lawhon (10.4 ppg) has a sprained right ankle that will probably limit him to a reserve role for the second straight game. Brenden Stowers (5.6 ppg), a freshman from Simon Kenton, should start in his place. Stowers scored a career-high 20 points Dec. 7 at Indianapolis, which helped NKU manage a 65-64 victory.
NKU is 11-0 at home.
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“The younger players have seen our Final Four rings, and that's all they keep talking about,” junior guard Michele Tuchfarber said. “I'm not a big ring person, so I don't wear mine much. But I'll sure wear one if it says national champions on it.”
So goes a supposed rebuilding season: NKU graduates six seniors from a 30-3 team, has no seniors in its nine-player rotation, yet stands 19-2 and ranks No.4 in NCAA Division II.
“I had doubts before the season,” sophomore forward Michelle Cottrell said. “Our record, I'm kind of shocked at.”
So should she be. Cottrell and Tuchfarber are the only returning starters. Only four players total returned.
Yet NKU holds a four-game lead in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and can clinch the No.1 seed in the GLVC Tournament with a home victory tonight against Indianapolis.
Nancy Winstel, who goes tonight for her 350th victory at NKU in 17 seasons, won't suggest she saw this coming.
“When you have so many new people, you're just not sure,” she said. “But I don't think there's any selfishness on this team. They'll all put the team before themselves.”
This winning taste has a local flavor. There are seven Greater Cincinnatians on the roster: Tuchfarber (Mount Notre Dame); sophomores Cottrell and Suzie Smith (both from Boone County); freshmen Amy Mobley (Harrison), Bridget Flanagan (Mercy) and Rebecca Bell (Simon Kenton); and senior walk-on Lisa Geiman (Bishop Brossart).
Cottrell and Tuchfarber were each All-GLVC performers last year. Cottrell, who leads the team in scoring (17.7 avg.), rebounds (9.5), steals (2.0) and field-goal percentage (.555), is a strong candidate for GLVC Player of the Year honors.
“She's the best player on the best team,” Winstel said. “When you look at our program, we went to national prominence when that young lady came to NKU and put on a uniform. She makes everyone better.”
Tuchfarber (12.6 ppg) is the quiet leader.
“She very well could be our MVP,” Winstel said.
The key is a diverse offense, one Winstel calls the best in her coaching career. The Norse shoot .491 from the field, including .453 from 3-point range. Cottrell and Mobley (8.0 ppg, 6.9 rebounds) hammer inside; junior Heather Livingstone (12.6 ppg), Tuchfarber and Flanagan (6.2) drop the daggers outside.
Livingstone leads the nation in 3-point shooting (.549), only because Flanagan (.580) doesn't have enough attempts.
The defense is keyed by junior center Jessica Jenson (4.9 ppg), who shadows the opponent's top scorer.
NKU leads the Great Lakes Region rankings; the top team at season's end hosts the regional portion of the NCAA Tournament. The home-court advantage proved crucial last year when a sellout crowd cheered the Norse to a last-second victory over Michigan Tech.
This year's road has not been as smooth as last season's.
“It has sometimes been rocky,” Tuchfarber said. “We'll have practices quite often when it's absolute chaos and Coach is just screaming. People who see our record have no idea how hard this has been.
“I think we're still figuring it out. I don't think we've peaked yet.”
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