THE NEED TO KNOWS
NIU (13-5, 6-1 MAC) vs Kent State (10-9, 4-3 MAC)
DeKalb, Ill./Convocation Center
Tipoff: Wednesday, January 25, 7 p.m.
Video: ESPN3
Radio: WLBK 98.9 FM/1360 AM

MATCHUP DETAILS
NIU trails Kent State in the all-time series, 20-14; NIU leads in DeKalb, 11-6

FREE THROWS
• NIU women's basketball is No. 3 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 88.2 points per game, 2.5 points shy of national leader Baylor, and have scored at least 90 points seven times.
• With the team's 22-for-26 performance at the free throw line versus Miami, the Huskies vaulted themselves back over the 80-percent mark. NIU is fourth nationally with a percentage of 80.2 this season.
• Northern Illinois University is 7-1 at home this season and have averaged 91.2 points at the NIU Convocation Center in 2016-17.
• In their first meeting this season, NIU defeated Kent State, 98-97, exchanging 17 leads and 14 ties. The Huskies shot a season-best 56.3 percent from the field, converting 36-of-64 attempts.
• NIU did not trail Miami University on Saturday afternoon and has led from start to finish in three of their six MAC wins this season.
• Nine times this season, including four of its last six games, NIU has had five players score in double figures. Six different Huskies are averaging 10-or-more points.
• Coming off a 21-point performance versus the RedHawks, Courtney Woods has registered eight 20-point games this season, the most by a Huskie since Amanda Corral in 2014-15.
• Senior Ally Lehman enters Saturday's game five points shy of moving into the top-20 of the all-time scoring annals at NIU.

CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER
• Following a week in which she averaged 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds versus Akron and Miami, senior Cassidy Glenn was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week on Tuesday morning, the first honor of her career.
• Glenn's best performance was a 32-point, 13 rebound game against the RedHawks on Saturday, finishing 11-of-21 from the field and 10-for-13 from the charity stripe.
• She set new career-highs in points, rebounds, field goals, free throws and tied her best mark in steals with four.
• Six times this season, Glenn has scored 20-or-more points in a game, two behind her top-scoring counterpart Courtney Woods.
• Glenn and Woods lead the team in scoring at 17.4 points per game and are tied for fifth in the Mid-American Conference
• The New Lenox, Ill., native ranks in the top-10 in the MAC in field goal attempts (255), field goals made (116), percentage (45.5), points (314) and points per game (17.4).

LET'S RUN IT BACK
• Wednesday night's meeting between the Huskies and Golden Flashes will be the first return game for both teams in Mid-American Conference play.
• With both teams trading baskets in the first half while swapping 12 leads and nine ties in the opening 20 minutes alone, NIU trailed Kent State at the horn, 54-53.
• The third quarter was all Golden Flashes, who outscored the Huskies, 24-15, to take a 12 point lead with 45 seconds left in the period.
• On the last possession of the quarter, freshman Janae Poisson drove toward the basket with only seconds left and drew a foul with just 0.9 left on the clock.
• The two made free throws by Poisson, who entered the final quarter with 17 points, served as a catalyst for Northern Illinois University's comeback as she added 10 more points in quarter to lead a 30 point output by the Huskies.
• While shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 4-of-8 behind the arc, NIU's perfect free throw shooting (8-of-8) down the stretch set the tone in the 98-97 win.
• Defensively, NIU only allowed KSU to shoot 3-of-11 inside the three-point line with zero makes from the perimeter.
• Five Huskies reached double figures in the matchup, led by Poisson's 27. The offense's rhythm started with Ally Lehman and Courtney Woods who both registered eight assists.
• Larissa Lurken and Jordan Korinek registered 31 and 26 points, respectively, for the Golden Flashes in the game.

FROM START TO FINISH
• In three of their six Mid-American Conference wins, NIU has led from start to finish, acquiescing ties in only one of those affairs.
• At Bowling Green and versus Miami last Saturday, NIU did not allow the Falcons or RedHawks to tie the game in the game, keeping both teams grounded.
• During the Huskies matchup at Toledo, the Rockets surged back in the second half and tied the game three times in the fourth quarter, however, key baskets and stops preserved the Huskies triumph at Savage Arena, 77-70
• The common denominator in these performances: NIU led by at least 17 points in all three games with a 22 point lead at BGSU and 20 versus Miami University. The Huskies led by 17 points at Toledo.

31 FOR 31
• Senior Ally Lehman has been the ignition to the Huskies offensive engine - the force that turns the key and gets things moving.
• Through advanced statistical metrics, it is estimated that Lehman creates 31.1 percent of her teammates field goals while on the floor.
• Only two other full-time players - Mikayla Voigt (13.1) and Courtney Woods (11.5) - have percentages in double figures.
• The margin between Lehman and her teammates is easy to see as five of her counterparts are averaging 10-or-more points per game with Cassidy Glenn and Woods accounting for nearly 40 percent of NIU's output this season.

GET TO THE LINE
• With 156 trips to the free throw line in the last seven games, NIU has stuck to its game plan of attacking the rim and drawing fouls.
• The Huskies are 124-for-156 (.795) in MAC play.
• During the team's win over Ohio at the NIU Convocation Center, Northern Illinois University went to the line a season-best 35 times, converting 31 attempts, also a season-high.
• Averaging just over 22 attempts per game, the Huskies lowest free throw total in the last six games occurred versus Akron last Wednesday, going 1-for-5. However, the team rebounded with a 22-for-26 performance against Miami.
• NIU's previous low was at Kent State, shooting 17-for-19 at the charity stripe.
• NIU's recent successes at the line has pushed the program to No. 4 nationally in team free throw percentage with an 80.2 percent clip.
• The program is also 15th in free throws made with 300 this season (16.7/G).

STICKY FINGERS
• The Huskies made positive practice of putting their hands up versus the RedHawks on Saturday, registering a season-best 12 steals in the game as three players registered three-or-more.
• As a result of the steals, NIU outscored Miami University 27-14 in points off turnovers and 8-2 on fast breaks.
• Cassidy Glenn led the Huskies with four steals, including two in the opening quarter, while Ally Lehman and Courtney Woods each registered three apiece.
• The mark tied the program's best performance in the last two seasons under Head Coach Lisa Carlsen, last registering 12 steals versus Wisconsin Lutheran on Nov. 17, 2015.

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 13 times this season and five-or-more hit the mark nine times.
• Third nationally in average points (88.2), 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 averaging 10.3 points per game off the bench.

POISSON'S BIG NIGHT
• Freshman Janae Poisson led the Huskies with 27 points off the bench last Wednesday night, scoring 12 points in the second quarter and 10 in the fourth, to help NIU past Kent State, 98-97.
• The performance which included a 9-of-17 shooting from the field and a flawless 5-for-5 clip at the charity stripe.
• Her performance was the highest total off the bench since Amanda Corral scored 24 at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 26, 2014.
• Poisson's 20-point game was the first by a freshman since Courtney Woods scored 21 points at Ball State last season.
• In addition, Poisson's 27 points were the most by a freshman since at least 2001 when Jennifer Youngblood scored 26 versus Western Michigan on Feb. 24, 2001.
• Including Poisson's game, the 20-point plateau has only been reached six times since 2011-12 by NIU freshmen.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• Kent State, like the Huskies, has been two of the biggest turnaround teams in the Mid-American Conference as it had already surpassed its win total from last season with a 10-9 clip with a a 4-3 record in the MAC.
• Since falling to NIU four games ago, the Golden Flashes are 3-0 with wins at Ohio (68-65), Western Michigan (71-67) and versus Toledo (70-60).
• Larissa Lurken, the MAC's leading scorer, is averaging 22.7 points per game and is the nation's leader at the free throw line in attempts and makes, shooting 149-for-185 (.805).
• Lurken has scored 20-or-more points in 13 of the team's 19 games this season, including 31 versus NIU on Jan. 11.
• In the front court, Jordan Korinek is averaging 14.7 points per game with a .480 field goal percentage and 6.2 rebounds per game.
• Since the start of MAC play, Korinek is averaging 19.9 points per game and shooting 52 percent  from the field. She has also averaged a team-best 7.1 rebounds per game.
• Kent State Head Coach Todd Starkey is in his first season with the Golden Flashes after spending two seasons as an assistant at Indiana.
• He was the head coach at Division II Lenior-Rhyne University from 2005-14, leading the program to the NCAA Tournament four times.

NEXT UP
• The Huskies will return to the road on Saturday when it takes on Ball State in Muncie, Ind.
• Tipoff at Worthen Arena is slated for 3:30 p.m. Central time. The game will air live on ESPN3.