GAME INFO
NIU (0-0)-Eastern Illinois (0-0)
Date: Friday, Nov. 10, 2017
Time: 6 PM CT
Location: Charleston, Ill. Lantz Arena (5,300)
TV: OVC Digital Network
Radio: WSQR 92.9 FM/1180 AM
 
SERIES HISTORY
NIU owns a 17-12 record over in-state foe Eastern Illinois, including a 79-63 win over the Panthers in their last meeting on Nov. 24, 2015 in the Convocation Center. The last victory for Eastern Illinois in the series came Nov. 26, 2014 when the Huskies fell, 55-46 in Charleston. The two teams have split the last four meetings with each team holding serve at home. NIU's last win at EIU came Feb. 3, 1994 when NIU scored an 84-67 triumph.
 
WHEN LAST WE MET
Four Huskies finished in double figures as NIU defeated Eastern Illinois, 79-63, in the Convocation Center. Jazmine Harris led all scorers with 21 points off the bench, while Kelly Smith was right behind her with 16 points, while grabbing nine rebounds. Courtney Woods added 13 points in a supporting role, while Natecia Augusta finished with 10 points. The Huskies won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Panthers, 49-25.
 
CATS AND DOGS
The Huskie women's basketball team is the second NIU team to face Eastern Illinois this season. The Huskie football team posted their first win of the year when they defeated the Panthers, 38-10, at Huskie Stadium on Sept. 9, 2017.
 
NIU vs. OVC
NIU is 26-16 versus teams that currently make up the Ohio Valley Conference, including their 17-12 record versus Eastern Illinois, the Huskies are 1-0 against Morehead State, 6-3 against SIUE, and 2-1 Southeast Missouri State. NIU will face SIUE Dec. 17.
 
FOR STARTERS
The Huskies are 34-25 in season openers, including a 1-1 mark under Lisa Carlsen. NIU won last season's opener on the road at Loyola, 90-70, which was the first win on the road in a season opener since Nov. 28, 1989 when the Huskies defeated Minnesota, 98-75. NIU had dropped their previous 11 season openers on the road prior to the win over the Ramblers.
 
BRAGGING RIGHTS
NIU's game at Eastern Illinois is the first of six games the Huskies against in-state foes. Following Friday's game at EIU, the Huskies will play host to Western Illinois 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 and 9-2 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 880 points in her three-year career, while Courtney Woods has 856 career points in two seasons with the Huskies. Mikayla Voigt is 300 points away with 700 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 32-31 record at NIU for a .604 winning percentage which ranks second to Jane Albright (1984-94), who boasts a school best .631 winning percentage. Carlsen has a career record of 216-194 in 14 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.
 
OUT OF THE WOODS
With 547 points last season, Courtney Woods became the third underclassman in NIU history to score 500 points in a season and just one of 32 underclasmen nationally to do so.
 
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.
 
LEADERS OF THE MAC
The Huskies averaged 85.1 points per game last season, which led the MAC and ranked fifth in the country. The 2016-17 scoring average was a 17.7 ppg improvement on 2015-16.
 
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.