Northern Kentucky Comes to the Summit City For #HLWBB Skirmish

Monday, December 29

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

Northern Kentucky

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Lauren Lee

Photo by: Josh Gales

Northern Kentucky Comes to the Summit City For #HLWBB Skirmish

12/28/2025 4:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball will play host to the Northern Kentucky Norse to wrap up the 2025 segment of the 2025-26 season with a game on December 29 at the Gates Sports Center.

Game Day Information
Who: Northern Kentucky Norse
When: Monday, December 29 | 7 PM
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Gates Sports Center
Live Stats: Link
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: WELT 95.7
Tickets: Link
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne | Northern Kentucky | Horizon League

Know Your Foe
Northern Kentucky is 3-11 and 0-3 in the early portion of Horizon League action, falling to Green Bay, Robert Morris and Cleveland State. The Norse are coming off a 62-61 loss to Bradley on the tail end of a five-game losing skid. Horizon League Freshman of the Year contender Karina Bystry is leading NKU with 11.4 points per game. Four others average between 5.0 and 10.0 points per game.

Series History
Northern Kentucky leads the all-time series 34-13, but the series is split 6-6 with the two programs as members of Division I. The Mastodons have won the last five meetings. In the last game of the series, Sydney Freeman scored 17 points in a 12-point win for the 'Dons.

A Win Would...
• Give the Mastodons a 14-34 record against Northern Kentucky
• Be the sixth win in a row against the Norse
• Give the Mastodons a 4-0 start to Horizon League play, the sixth 4-0 start to a league season in program history and second in a row
• Be the Mastodons' sixth win a row, giving the Mastodons their 11th six-game winning streak in program history and third of the Division I era
• Give Maria Marchesano her 50th Horizon League win as Mastodon head coach

Chasing 2,500
Alana Nelson needs just six points to reach 2,500 in her career at all levels. She will be the only active player in the country with 2,500 points in her career, regardless of level.

Chasing 2,000
Jordan Reid needs 202 points to reach 2,000 in her career between Purdue Fort Wayne and Indiana Wesleyan.

It's Raining Buckets, Get Under The Umbr-Ella!
Ella Riggs matched the program's field goal percentage record in the Mastodons' win over Aquinas on December 19 with a 10-for-11 performance from the field. She went 4-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc en route to a career-high 24 points.

Off The Bench? No Problem
Ella Riggs scored 24 points off the bench in the Mastodons' 104-31 win over Aquinas (Dec. 19). She was the first Mastodon to score 20 or more off the bench since Ryin Ott in 2023.

A Saintly Performance
While Ella Riggs tied the program's field goal percentage record, Alana Nelson was 9-for-10 from the floor and 6-for-7 from 3-point range against Aquinas on December 19. This was good for the third-best shooting effort from the floor and fourth-best from 3-point range in program history. It also gave Nelson a new season-high of 26 points.

A Few Percent Better
The Mastodons' 59.2 field goal percentage against Aquinas was the fourth-best by a Mastodon team in the Division I era (2001-present).

Some Advanced Stats
In Purdue Fort Wayne's win over Aquinas, the Mastodons held the Saints to an offensive rating of 39.8, the worst-ever by a Mastodon foe. Meanwhile, the Mastodons had an offensive rating of 138.4, the fifth-best in recorded history.

League Leader
Alana Nelson leads the Horizon League this season in points (225), points per game (17.3), effective field goal percentage (61.8) and field goals (79). In league play, she leads in points (69), points per game (23.0), field goals (24) and minutes per game (37.7).

Career Points Tracker
Let's take a look at the career scoring numbers for the three former NAIA All-Americans on the roster regardless of level.
Alana Nelson - 2,494 (482 at Northwood, 1,787 at Spring Arbor, 225 at PFW)
Jordan Reid - 1,798 (1,395 at Indiana Wesleyan, 403 at PFW)
Lauren Lee - 1,669 (1,630 at Campbellsville, 39 at PFW)

Marchesano Madness
Maria Marchesano was selected for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame's Silver Anniversary Team, which recognizes high school graduates from the 2001 class. The team will be honored on April 25 at the Hall of Fame Museum in New Castle.

In the Polls
Purdue Fort Wayne was receiving votes in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 Poll on December 23. The Mastodons spent eight weeks in the Top 25 last season and received votes in all but the first poll of the 2024-25 season.

Lili Love
Lili Krasovec scored a career-high 16 points against Northern Illinois after going 7-of-10 from the floor. She has scored in double-digits seven times this season after doing so just twice at Boston College.

Lock In Lili
Lili Krasovec has scored 15+ points four times this season (Purdue, Eastern Michigan, Wright State, Northern Illinois). In those games, she was a combined 22-for-34 (64.7 percent) from the floor and 17-of-20 (85.0 percent) from the free throw line.

3-0 Starts
The Mastodons are 3-0 to start Horizon League play. There have only been seven other Mastodon teams to start 3-0 in league play, three of which were under Maria Marchesano: 2024-25 (Horizon), 2023-24 (Horizon), 2021-22 (Horizon), 2009-10 (Summit), 1995-96 (GLVC), 1993-94 (GLVC) and 1989-90 (GLVC).

3-Ball Fun
The Mastodons are 3-0 this season when they hit 10 or more 3-pointers this season. Under Maria Marchesano's leadership, the 'Dons have had 52 such games with a 41-11 record in those games.

Look at Lee!
Through three Horizon League games, Lauren Lee leads the HL with 5.0 assists per game. She also has a 3.8 assist to turnover ratio, which is second-best.

Reid About Jordan
Jordan Reid is the only player in the Horizon League in the top-10 in both rebounding (5.8) and steals (2.6) per game this season.

I'll Take That
Jordan Reid is averaging 2.6 steals per game, which ranks second in the Horizon League and top-60 nationally. If that average holds for a season-long mark, it would be second-best in the program's Division I era and fourth-best overall.

Inside The Arc? Guaranteed Bucket
Lili Krasovec is shooting 65.0 percent from the floor this season (52-for-80). If she qualified for the leaderboard with enough makes, she would lead the Horizon League in the field goal percentage category. Once she reaches 75 made baskets, she would qualify for the season mark in Mastodon history. Her 65.0 percent would rank first, topping Jazzlyn Linbo's 58.3 from last season.

Home Sweet Gates
Purdue Fort Wayne is 49-21 (70.0 percent) at home under head coach Maria Marchesano and 34-6 (85.0 percent) over the last three seasons.

Magic Numbers 70 and 80
Under head coach Maria Marchesano, the Mastodons are 54-8 when they score 70 points or more and 25-2 when they hit 80.

Bench Mob
Purdue Fort Wayne's bench is out-scoring its opponents' benches 279-207 this season. The Mastodon bench has led in bench points in nine of its 13 games.

Last Time Out
Purdue Fort Wayne beat Aquinas 104-31 behind a pair of special offensive performances from Alana Nelson (26 points, 9-of-10) and Ella Riggs (24 points, 10-of-11).

Next Time Up
The Mastodons will make a trip to the suburbs of Detroit for a game at Oakland on Jan. 2. The 'Dons will play their first home game of 2026 against IU Indy on Jan. 5.

~ Feel the Rumble ~