THE NEED TO KNOWS
NIU (10-4, 3-0 MAC) at Kent State (7-8, 1-2 MAC)
Kent, Ohio (M.A.C. Center)
Tipoff: Wednesday, January 11, 6 p.m.
Radio: WLBK 98.9 FM/1360 AM

MATCHUP DETAILS
NIU trails Kent State in the all-time series, 20-13; NIU trails in Kent, 13-2

FREE THROWS
• NIU women's basketball is No. 2 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 90.6 points per game, 3.0 points shy of national leader Baylor, and have scored at least 80 points 13 times this season.
• The Huskies outscored the Bobcats 31-9 at the free throw line and have scored a combined 51 points at the charity stripe to their foes 19 points in the last two games. NIU is shooting 66-for-81 (.815) in the last three games and is 12th nationally in made free throws (242) and fourth in percentage (.809).
• For the seventh time this season, Northern Illinois University registered five-or-more scorers in double figures during last Saturday's win over Ohio. Five different Huskies are averaging 10-or-more points.
• NIU is flawless in its first three conference games since 1993-94 when NIU finished 18-0 in the Mid-Continent Conference. The Huskies have never started 3-0 as a member of the MAC.
• Entering the game 11th in the country in assists per game (7.1), Ally Lehman leads the top-11 distributors in the country in rebounding (10.9) and ranks third in scoring (16.9).
• Lehman has 99 assists through 14 games. With one more dime, she would become just the third NIU player to ever record three 100-assist seasons and the fastest in program history to reach 100.
• The Huskies scored a program-record 37 points in the fourth quarter at Kent State last year.
• The NIU offense is averaging 80.7 possessions per game, scoring 1.12 points per possession.
• Northern Illinois University has not won three-consecutive road games since 2003.

ALL-AMERICA ALLY LEHMAN
• Though 2017 is in its infancy and the NCAA basketball season is only a third of the way through, no point guard has been as prolific as Ally Lehman this season.
• As a passer, Lehman has dished nine-or-more assists six times and at least five 12 times.
• On the glass, she's pulled down 10-or-more rebounds on nine occasions and has registered 10 double-doubles through 14 games.
• The Nineveh, Ind., native is 11th in the country in assists per game at 7.1, totaling 99 helpers. She is also ninth in the country in assist-turnover ratio with a clip of 3.00.
• Amongst her peers at the top of assist leaders table, Lehman leads all players in rebounding (10.9) and is third in scoring (16.9), ranking 13th and 86th nationally, respectively.
• She is the only player in the country averaging seven-or-more assists with two triple-doubles. The only player on that list with a triple-double this season is UCLA's Jordin Canada.
• In the latest Mid-American Conference statistical report, Lehman ranked amongst the top-10 in the MAC in 10-of-13 statistical categories and appears in the top-15 in 11 classifications.
• Her 48-points against Milwaukee, tied for the most in Mid-American Conference history, still stands as the second-highest ranked total in Division I this season while her 21 rebounds that same night is the sixth-best.
• Lehman's 40-20 performance was just the fourth such game in NCAA Division I since 2009-10.
• Off the court, the senior has taken an oath to eight years of military service, where she will begin training at Fort Benning to become an infantry officer in the United States Army.

STARTING OUT ON THE GOOD FOOT
• NIU has gotten off to its best start ever as a member of the Mid-American Conference with a 3-0 start.
• The Huskies last opened conference play 3-0 in 1993-94 as a member of the Mid-Continent Conference when they ran the table to a perfect 18-0 record.
• A large part of Northern Illinois University's success has been its ability to attack the basket and draw fouls as NIU has earned 81 trips in the last three games including a season-best 35 versus Ohio.
• NIU's first half play has been key as well, outscoring its foes by an average of 16 points (44-28) while shooting .442 from the field and only allowing 4.7 turnovers.
• Courtney Woods has been a catalyst for the Huskies offensively in the opening 20 minutes, averaging 11 points and shooting .440 from the field and at a .475 clip behind the arc.
• Bucking historical trends as well, NIU had not won at Bowling Green since 2004 and earned its first win ever at BGSU's Stroh Center, which opened in 2011
• The Huskies also had not beaten Ohio, the two-time reigning MAC Champion, in their last three attempts.
• The 2016-17 Huskies are the fastest team to 10 wins (14 games) since the 2005-06 team, who also reached the mark in 14 games.

THE VERY DEFINITION OF #MACTION
• With a 10-4 start to the season, the MAC is starting to take notice of what NIU women's basketball is all about.
• Northern Illinois University has averaged 87.3 points and 16 assists in its three conference games, paced by an 89-point and 19-assist night at Bowling Green last Wednesday.
• The Huskies lead the MAC in points per game and are No. 2 in the country at 90.8.
• On the season, NIU has averaged 16.0 assists per outing, the third-best distribution clip in the conference.
• Behind the arc, Northern Illinois also leads the MAC in three-pointers per game (8.4) and three-point field goal percentage (38.4) while also ranking in the top-15 nationally.
• In 11 of the team's first 14 games, four-or-more players have reached double figures in a game, including five-or-more Huskies seven times.
• The Huskies are averaging 80.7 possessions per game in its first 14 games and tallied 86 versus Ohio. NIU recorded a season-high 114 possessions in a double overtime victory over the Panthers.

THE BIRTH OF COOL
• Though there was a sneak peak in an 87-73 win over Drake last season, the NIU women's basketball team that we know today was born Jan. 27, 2016 in the fourth quarter at Kent State.
• Trailing by 17 points entering the period, the Golden Flashes built their biggest lead of the night (20 points) with 7:10 remaining in the period, 73-53.
• Led by Mikayla Voigt, who scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, the Huskies would climb back to within five points with 1:35 left in regulation and finish with a program-record 37 points in the quarter.
• With injuries prevalent on the squad at the time and out of gas, however, NIU could not complete the comeback as it fell at KSU that night, 95-85.
• NIU finished 14-of-25 in the quarter, a clip of 60.9 percent.
• Three days later, the Huskies would defeat Buffalo, 76-74, after Cassidy Glenn sunk a three-pointer at the buzzer.
• Versus Miami on Feb. 10, Northern Illinois tallied its first 90-point game in 10 seasons and improved its scoring output from 65 points in the first 18 games to 71 in the final 12 contests.
• The Huskies also tallied a .417 clip in the field in its remaining games, an improvement of 26 points.
• The biggest change in the lineup pre and post-Kent State was the insertion of Courtney Woods into the starting lineup.
• The Aussie averaged 15 points a game in the final 12 outings, hitting over 43 percent of her shots from the field to just 34 percent prior to KSU.

SEEKING MORE HISTORY
• In 15 trips to Kent, Ohio, the NIU women's basketball program has posted a 2-13 record all-time. Wednesday's meeting will be the 16th in Kent and the 34th clash between the two programs.
• The Huskies last won at the M.A.C. Center on Feb. 20 2013 when they triumphed, 52-47.
• Prior to that, Northern Illinois University had not won at Kent State since Jan. 12, 1985. Led by NIU Athletics Hall of Fame Coach Jane Albright, the Huskies beat the Golden Flashes, 64-55.
• Of all the players, coaches and support staff members with the women's basketball program, only head coach Lisa Carlsen, radio play-by-play Andy Garcia and athletic trainer Frank Garcia were alive when NIU recorded its first win in Kent, Ohio.

A SEASON-LOW EQUALLED A SEASON-HIGH
• For the first time all season, NIU attempted fewer than 60 shots in a game as it went 26-for-59 (.441) against the Bobcats on Saturday.
• The Huskies previous season-low was 65 at Bradley on Dec. 2.
• However, NIU set a new season-high in trips to the free throw line with 35 against Ohio, besting its previous high of 34 against Milwaukee on Nov. 16.
• As a team, Northern Illinois finished 31-for-35 at the free throw line, also a season-best in makes. Courtney Woods finished 11-for-14 at the charity stripe.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• Kent State improved to 7-8 on Saturday afternoon in Ypsilanti, Mich., following an 86-67 victory at Eastern Michigan.
• The triumph was the Golden Flashes first Mid-American Conference win of the year after dropping games at Ball State (71-47) and versus Central Michigan (91-78) in the MAC opener.
• The team is led by Larissa Lurken, who is averaging 22.2 points per game (eighth in the country).
• Lurken is the nation's leader in free throw attempts with 139 while tallying 111 makes, No. 2 behind the nation's leading scorer, Washington's Kelsey Plum.
• Four of the team's seven wins in 2016-17 have occurred at the M.A.C. Center.
• Jordan Korinek is averaging 12.7 points in support of Lurken and boasts a team-best .472 shooting percentage.
• The Golden Flashes are 1-0 against like non-conference foes of NIU, opening 2016-17 with a 77-52 win over Bradley.

TREYS FOR DAYS
• As a team, NIU is sixth in the Mid-American Conference in three-point field goal attempts with 307.
• However, the Huskies are second in makes with 117 to rank 37th in the country and are first in the MAC in three-point field goal percentage.
• Cassidy Glenn leads the conference in three-point field percentage with a clip of .464, hitting 26 of her 56 shots.
• Meanwhile, teammate Courtney Woods paces the MAC in makes with 44, averaging 3.1 per game, which also puts her 31st in the NCAA this season.

WE ARE WHO WE ARE - NO IDENTITY CRISIS
• The Huskies equal scoring all season has been a big part of the team's success to start the year.
• NIU has had four-or-more players with 10 points-or-more in a game 11 times this season and five-or-more hit the mark seven times.
• Second nationally in average points (90.8), all five of the Huskies starters – Cassidy Glenn, Ally Lehman, Kelly Smith, Mikayla Voigt Courtney Woods – are averaging double figures while substitute Janae Poisson is just a tenth of a point shy of making six double-digit scorers.

STICKY FINGERS
• The Huskies have found a fast rhythm to their defensive style as of late, causing 71 turnovers and recording 38 steals in the last four games.
• NIU has registered 10-or-more steals in a game six times this season, including three times in the last four games while Northern Illinois University has averaged 20.5 points off turnovers in that spot
• Courtney Woods has led the Huskies with eight steals in the last three games, including four steals versus Ohio to her career-high for the third time this season.

NEXT UP
• The Huskies will remain in Ohio until taking on Toledo on Saturday afternoon at Savage Arena.
• Tipoff versus the Rockets is set for 1 p.m. Central.