Gameday Notes - SIUe 

THE NEED TO KNOWS
NIU (0-0) vs SIUE (0-0)
Edwardsville, Ill. (Sam M. Vadalabene Center)
Tipoff: 5:30 p.m.
Radio: WSQR 92.9 FM/1180AM; NIUTube ($)
Video: OVC Digital Network
Live Stats

MATCHUP DETAILS
NIU leads SIUE in the all-time series, 5-2; leads in Edwardsville, 1-0

FREE THROWS
• Friday night’s season-opener will serve as the NIU coaching debut for Lisa Carlsen, hired on June 30, after eight successful seasons at Lewis.
• Carlsen led the Flyers to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a berth into the 2015 Elite Eight. She was named the WBCA Division II Coach of the Year after posting a 31-3 record last season.
• NIU returns its leading rebounder and distributor from 2014-15 in Ally Lehman, who averaged 7.3 boards and 4.0 assists. She was second in scoring with 9.2 points per game.
• The Huskies return 2014-15 Mid-American Conference All-Freshman team selection Kelly Smith as well, who averaged 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game last year.
• In it’s exhibition game against Saint Francis (Ill.), NIU outscored the Saints in fast break points, 19-2, and amassed 21 assists.
• The Huskies were picked to finish sixth in the MAC West.
• Northern Illinois University is looking to win its second-straight season opener, defeating Illinois State in 2014, 55-51.
• NIU is 33-25 in season openers.

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’?
• Beginning a new era of basketball under first year Head Coach Lisa Carlsen in 2015-16, the NIU women’s basketball will take on SIU Edwardsville in the season opener Friday night in Edwardsville. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
• The game will be streamed live on the OVC Digital Network with NIU audio available on NIUTube locally in DeKalb on WSQR 92.9 FM and 1180 AM.

NEW ERA, NEW STYLE
• After playing primarily a defensive style the last five seasons, NIU has shifted gears to a more up and down the floor offensive game for the 2015-16 season.
• It’s the same system Head Coach Lisa Carlsen ran at Lewis, where she led the Flyers to a 148-89 record in eight seasons.
• Lewis reached the NCAA Tournament in each of her last three seasons, reaching the second round in 2013-14 and the Elite Eight in 2014-15.
• The Flyers averaged over 70 points per game in those seasons, scoring 80.5 points per game in her final year at the helm.
• Though only an exhibition game, the Huskies scored 86 points on Saint Francis, shooting 50.7 percent from the field (34-67).
• NIU also dished 21 assists in the contest, over half of which came from Lacia Gorman (5) and Ally Lehman (6).

COACH CARLSEN FACES MENTOR IN DEBUT
• Head Coach Lisa Carlsen took a different path to becoming a women’s basketball coach, taking her first basketball job in 1998 alongside current SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher at Nebraska-Omaha.
• An all-conference basketball and softball player at Northwest Missouri State, Carlsen was the head softball coach at St. Mary’s (Neb.) from 1994-97 after she finished her master’s degree at UNO.
• She then took over as the head softball coaching duties at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska, assisting with volleyball in the fall.
• In 1998, Carlsen returned to Omaha where she took her first assistant basketball job on Buscher’s staff at UNO.
• After two seasons as an assistant, Carlsen took over as head coach when Buscher left to become the head coach at Bradley.
• Since then, Carlsen has remained in contact with Buscher, citing her as a mentor throughout her coaching career.
• This will be their first head-to-head meeting as head coaches.

NIU COACHES IN THEIR HUSKIE DEBUT
• Lisa Carlsen was named the 10th head coach of the NIU women’s basketball program on June 30, succeeding Kathi Bennett after five seasons.
• Under the nine previous coaches, NIU has 6-3 in coaching debuts, most recently winning Carol Owens’ (2005-10) debut on November 18, 2005 over North Dakota State, 67-62.
• Worth noting, of the three coaching debut losses at NIU, all of the head coaches won their second game at the helm of Northern Illinois University.
• View the complete table of NIU head coaches and their debut on page five of the notes packet.

LEHMAN TO LEAD THE WAY
• Junior Ally Lehman is one of the most experienced players returning to the NIU lineup this season, appearing in 59 games with 55 starts, currently the most on the team.
• The Ninevah, Ind., native has been a versatile asset for the Huskies in the last two seasons, having played at the one, two, three and four.
• Lehman has accumulated 454 points, the second-most on the team behind Natecia Augusta’s 568, and has the most career rebounds and assists with 345 and 188, respectively.
• The junior is majoring in military science and is looking to become the first student-athlete at NIU to graduate from the program.
• She will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon graduation.

ALL-FRESHMAN PICK READY FOR SOPHOMORE YEAR
• Freshman Kelly Smith made herself known immediately in the NIU lineup last season, scoring 17-points in the season-opener versus Illinois State.
• Smith led all Huskie scorers in the game, becoming the first NIU freshman to lead the team in scoring in the opener since 2000.
• The Hartland, Wis., native continued putting up strong numbers, scoring in double figures 14 times, including a five game stretch from Jan. 28 to Feb. 11, with two double-doubles to her credit.
• In 15 starts, Smith averaged 11.1 points per game and closed the season with an average of 9.0 points per game.
• Smith ended the season with All-MAC Freshman team accolades, finishing with the third-best scoring average in the conference amongst freshmen.
• She was the first Huskie to earn the honor since WNBA Draft Pick Stephanie Raymond in 2003-04.

RETURNEES TO THE POST
• Two Huskies sat out the 2014-15 season as senior Natecia Augusta and sophomore Jazmine Harris were injured during preseason practice.
• Both forwards return after redshirting last season, bringing back with them the 16.4 points per game they combined for in 2013-14.
• Augusta finished second on the team that season, scoring 10.4 points per game while leading the team in rebounds at 5.4 boards per outing in 30 contests.
• Harris appeared in 28 games as a freshman, averaging 13.6 minutes per game off the bench.
• Often appearing in two to three minute spurts, Harris averaged 6.0 points per game.
• Twice she scored 15 points, doing so in less than 20 minutes on the floor. Harris scored 10-or-more points seven times as a freshman.

MEET THE NEWCOMERS
• The Huskies have three freshmen on this year’s roster in Ally May, MiKayla Voigt and Courtney Woods.
• Both Voigt and Woods got their first taste of collegiate basketball last weekend against Saint Francis as they played 31 and 24 minutes, respectively.
• Starting in the game, Voigt scored 14 points and pulled down six rebounds with three assists. She was 3-for-4 behind the three-point line while going 5-for-8 from the field.
• Woods came off the bench for the Huskies, scoring 22 points and going 8-of-10 from the field in 24 minutes.
• The Brisbane, Australia native shared the team lead in scoring with Kelly Smith.
• May did not appear in the game.

NEXT UP
• NIU will play its home opener on Tuesday, November 17 when it hosts Wisconsin Lutheran at 7 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3.