With a pair of 20-plus win seasons in the last three years, the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team looks to go farther.
The Norse finished 21-8 last year including a 14-6 mark in Horizon League play to earn the fifth seed in the conference tournament. NKU saw its season end with a 59-51 loss at fourth-seeded Cleveland State in the league tournament quarterfinals.
In six seasons since Cynthiana native Camryn Whitaker took over the program in 2016, the Norse have driven to the Horizon League Tournament semifinals once, in 2020. The Norse won ten in a row at one point last year and Whitaker said more back-to-back victories are needed to take next steps.
One goal is to have fewer than five league losses during the regular season.
The Norse may be 78-93 in Whitaker’s tenure but they are 4-1 in first-round league tournament games during that time.
The Horizon League women’s basketball preseason poll has the Norse finishing fourth out of 11 teams. The University of Illinois at Chicago moved to the Missouri Valley Conference after last season.
Whitaker noted the Norse have been competitive with the top teams in the Horizon League. The Norse lost their lone game at favorite Youngstown State and split the games against league power Green Bay – picked second this year.
One goal is making sure the team picked third in the conference, Cleveland State, does not beat the Norse three times like last season. The Vikings feature the league’s preseason play of the year, junior guard Destiny Leo.
“We’ve got to make it back to (Indianapolis), make it to that championship game so we get to experience that,” Whitaker said. “I know our kids have worked extremely hard in the offseason. They continue to work hard on their own and as a team. Our Greece trip was beneficial to get some things in early. I think we’re going to be ready to go a lot sooner this year. I’m looking forward to seeing how we pan out this year, how it finishes up and hopefully, it’s better than fourth.”
The Norse return four starters including two pre-season all-league picks, including first-team graduate student guard Lindsey Duvall and second-team senior guard Ivy Turner. Duvall averaged 15.8 points per game last year and Turnver averaged 12.9. Duvall is also the team’s leading returning rebounder with 212. The two made the All-Horizon League second team last year. Whitaker said she’s never seen anyone work the way Duvall works.
“I think we have a really great team from top to bottom,” Duvall said. “I think everybody can really give us good minutes and help in their own way. I’m really excited for this year and I think we could really do something special.”
The Norse saw starting forward/center Grayson Rose-Schoenle graduate and three other players off last year’s roster did not return. Rose-Schoenle led the Norse in rebounds with 260 last year and 72 blocked shots. She won the Horizon League’s Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The other two returning starters are sophomore guard Khamari Mitchell-Steen and forward/center graduate student Emmy Souder. Junior 5-7 guard Kennedy Igo made one start last year for Northern Kentucky. Souder finished third on the team with 157 rebounds last year.
“Our four seniors have just done a tremendous job with their leadership,” Whitaker said. “I think those pieces of our basketball team end up translating to the court and you’ll see it on the court with our team in how they play together and their team chemistry. I think that’s going to be our biggest asset this year.”
Whitaker said the Norse have the experience and depth to push the tempo this year. She said Northern Kentucky is running more of a motion offense in the halfcourt as opposed to the dribble-drive offense.
Whitaker in the past has talked about bringing in more size. The Norse sport four players with heights of six-feet and taller. Sophomore forward Paige Hodgson is the tallest standing 6-4 and senior forward Tayah Irvin stands 6-1.
“With the players we have, we’ve been working on our strength,” Irvin said. “We’ll be able to double down on posts when we need it. Overall, I think it comes from the perimeter. They’re going to be able to create.”
Whitaker had high praise for junior guard Whitney Hay. Hay sat out last year after transferring from Belmont University.
“She wanted the year to get herself in really good shape and get her in a physical place where she can help our team,” Whitaker said of Hay. “She’s worked really hard over the last year sitting out and learning our system in practice. I think that really helped her. What you can expect to see from Whitney is she’s a high-volume scorer. We’ve got good scorers on the team already. But she is going to add to that. She can play inside and out. She’s a really good passer. She’s willing to do whatever it takes. We’re looking forward to her contributing quite a bit this year.”
Three other players return from last year, junior guard/wing Ellie Taylor, and sophomores, forward Trinity Thompson and guard Kailee Davis.
“You can see us coming off screens trying to create shots and work off the ball vs. with the ball in our hands,” Whitaker said. “We’ve got a couple good point guards in Kailee and Ivy who can really tattack off the ball screens. So when they’re in the game and the ball is in their hands, I think you’ll be able to see them create offensively more off the ball screens.”
Northern Kentucky has one true freshman this year, guard Allison Basye.
“Our team chemistry is great. We all get along in and out of practice,” Turner said. “It’s been wonderful so far. I’m just trying to do my part.”
The Norse led opponents in almost every statistical category.
Turner said a big focus in the preseason has been on offensive rebounds.
NKU has 16 home games this year. Locally, Miami University and Cincinnati visit Truist Arena this season. The Norse also travel to Dayton.
Whitaker said a meeting against defending National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics champion Thomas More has not been discussed, but it’s something to consider in the future.
“There are a number of Power Five schools that we also wanted to play this year, we were willing to go on the road and they wouldn’t play us,” Whitaker said. “I think that says a lot about our program and how people view us. But we’re really excited about our schedule. We want to play really good games that will prepare us. We feel like we’ve put together a challenging schedule.”
The Norse have an exhibition game at Truist Arena against the University of Indianapolis on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. The first regular season game is Thursday, Nov. 10 at Truist Arena against Lipscomb at 7 p.m.
2022-23 Horizon League Womens Basketball Preseason Poll
Pl. Team – Pts. (First-place votes)
1. Youngstown State (8) – 118
2. Green Bay (2) – 106
3. Cleveland State (1) – 102
4. Northern Kentucky – 88
5. Milwaukee – 75
6. IUPUI – 67
7. Oakland – 47
8. Purdue Fort Wayne – 44
9. RMU – 42
10. Wright State – 26
11. Detroit Mercy – 11
Preseason Player of the Year
Destiny Leo, Cleveland State
Preseason All-League First Team (alphabetical order by school)
Lindsey Duvall, Northern Kentucky
Destiny Leo, Cleveland State
Hailey Oskey, Green Bay
Megan Walstad, Milwaukee
Lilly Ritz, Youngstown State
Preseason All-League Second Team (alphabetical order by school)
Ivy Turner, Northern Kentucky
Bailey Butler, Green Bay
Rachel Kent, IUPUI
Breanne Beatty, Oakland
Shayla Sellers, Purdue Fort Wayne