GAME INFO
NIU (1-0) - Iowa (2-0)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017
Time: 7 PM CT
Location: Iowa City, Iowa Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,400)
TV: BTN Plus
Radio: WSQR 92.9 FM/1180 AM
 
SERIES HISTORY
Iowa owns an 11-8 record in the all-time series between the two schools, including a 6-4 mark against NIU on their home floor. Iowa won the last meeting, 63-40, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Nov. 19, 2012. The last NIU win in the series came Jan. 25, 1994 when the Huskies held on for a 59-56 victory over the Hawkeyes in Chick Evans Fieldhouse. The last Huskie win in Iowa City was Jan. 5, 1982 when NIU scored a 69-57 win.
 
WHEN LAST WE MET
The Huskies battled in the second half, but were unable to overcome a 34-13 halftime deficit. Iowa shot 40.4 percent from the floor, while holding the Huskies to just 29.2 percent from the field. Satavia Taylor led the way for the Huskies with a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. NIU won the rebounding battle, 33-28, but committed 22 turnovers to Iowa's 10.
 
NIU vs. The Big Ten
NIU is 39-53 versus teams currently comprising the Big Ten Conference. The Huskies own winning records against Illinois (14-12), Michigan (2-1) and Michigan State (3-2) and have .500 marks against Indiana (2-2) and Nebraska (2-2). Iowa is the only school from the Big Ten or any other autonomous conference this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Huskies improved to 35-25 in season openers, including a 2-1 mark under Lisa Carlsen when NIU scored a 93-64 victory over Eastern Illinois. Four players finished in double figures as NIU shot 53.8 percent from the field, while holding Eastern Illinois to 34.3. The Huskies won the rebounding battle, 49-33, and blocked six shots.
 
CAREER NIGHT
Kelly Smith opened the game at Eastern Illinois, going 6-for-6 from the field and finishing the game with a career-high 26 points. The Huskie center was 11-for-15 from the floor and 4-for-8 from the free throw line. Her 11 made field goals was also a career-high for the Huskie senior. Her previous highs were 21 points set at Central Michigan (Jan. 13, 2016) and eight field goals, which she set three times, the last coming at Central Michigan (Jan. 13, 2016).
 
HUSKIE HAWKEYE
NIU assistant women's basketball coach John McGinty graduated from the University of Iowa in 2012 with a degree in sports studies.
 
CASTRO'S DEBUT
Redshirt freshman Paulina Castro made her first career at NIU in the Huskies' game with Eastern Illinois. Castro sat out all of the 2016-17 season battling Hodgkins Lymphoma. She collected one rebound and one assist in 10 minutes of play.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Huskies had four players finish in double figures in the season opener at Eastern Illinois. Last year, NIU accomplished the feat 22 times, including a season-high six players finishing in double figures against Bradley on Dec. 2, 2017. Kelly Smith led the way with 26, while Mikayla Voigt and Janae Poisson each finished with 14 points. Woods finished the game with 13 points and rounds out the Huskie quartet.
 
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Five Huskies saw their first action as Huskies in NIU's season-opening victory at Eastern Illinois headlined by redshirt freshman Paulina Castro, who made her first career start for NIU. Riley Blackwell tallied eight points and grabbed three rebounds in nine minutes. Gabby Nikitinaite scored five points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists. Nicole Orr, who sat out last year due to NCAA transfer rules scored four points in two minutes, while Errin Hodges played nine minutes.
 
BRAGGING RIGHTS
With its victory over Eastern Illinois, NIU improved to 119-123 against Division I teams from the state of Illinois. Eastern Illinois was the first of six games the Huskies against in-state foes. Following Wednesday's game at Iowa, the Huskies will play host to Western Illinois Saturday, Nov. 18. NIU then travels to Chicago State Nov. 20. When NIU returns from its Thanksgiving trip, the Huskies will play host to Bradley (Nov. 29) and Loyola (Dec. 6) before traveling to SIUE Dec. 17. NIU was 5-1 versus teams from the Land of Lincoln last year and is 10-2 overall under Lisa Carlsen.
 
CHASING 1,000
Three Huskies enter this season with an opportunity to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Kelly Smith leads the way with 905 points in her three-year career, while Courtney Woods has 869 career points in two seasons with the Huskies. Mikayla Voigt is 286 points away with 714 career points. She scored a career best 380 points last year. The Huskies have never had three players score their 1,000th career point in the same season. The last time more than one Huskie scored their 1,000th career point in the same season was 1993-94 when E.C. Hill and Angela Lockett accomplished the feat.
 
TWENTY-ONE AND OVER
The Huskies are coming off a 21-12 record in 2016-17. It was NIU's first 20-win season since 1993-94 and the sixth in school history. The school record for wins in a season is 26 set in 1989-90 when the Huskies posted a 26-5 record.
 
SEEKING A POSTSEASON ENCORE
The Huskies, who made their first postseason appearance since 1991 when they participated in the 2017 Women's National Invitational Tournament, are looking to make it consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since 1994-95. NIU made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1993-94 and 1994-95.
 
CARLSEN CLIMBING
Lisa Carlsen enters her third season as head coach of the NIU Women's Basketball team. She has a 33-31 record at NIU for a .616 winning percentage which ranks second to Rita Horky (1981-83), who finished with a .525 winning percentage (31-28). Carlsen is seventh all-time at NIU in wins. Carlsen has a career record of 217-194 in 15 seasons as a head coach.
 
WELCOME NEWCOMERS
NIU head coach Lisa Carlsen welcomed two new members to her staff for this year. Maria Kasza joined NIU as an assistant coach, while Quinn Rear was added to the staff as director of basketball operations. Kasza came to NIU after spending the last five seasons as an assistant at Michigan Tech. Rear joined the NIU staff following two seasons as a graduate assistant at Truman State.
 
TRIPLE-DOUBLE
The Huskies return three starters – Kelly Smith, Mikayla Voight and Courtney Woods – all of whom averaged in double figures in scoring last year for NIU. Woods is NIU's returning leading scorer, averaging 16.6 points a game last year, while Voigt is behind her with an 11.5-point scoring average in 2016-17. Smith, who scored 10.7 points a game a year ago, rounds out the trio. She is also NIU's leading rebounder with 6.3 boards a game.
 
CHARITY STRIPE CHAMP
Mikayla Voight enters the season as NIU's career leader in free throw percentage (.855), 16 points ahead of second place Stephanie Raymond (2003-07). She boasted a career-high 89.2 percent free throw percentage last year, hitting 74 of 83 free throw attempts.
 
FOREIGN HUSKIES
Freshman Gabby Nikitinaite, a native of Orpington, Kent, United Kingdom, is the second foreign player on the Huskie roster. She joins Courtney Woods, who hails from Brisbane, Australia.
 
HALL CALL
Huskies women's basketball legend Angela Lockett was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 6, 2017. Lockett, who starred for the Huskies from 1990-92, 1993-95 was a scoring and rebounding force who helped guide the NIU women's basketball team to the postseason in each of her four seasons on the court. Seventh on NIU's all-time scoring list, she also led NIU in rebounding for four seasons, closing her career with 1,014 career boards, the third best mark in school history.

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