GAME INFO
NIU (10-9, 2-6) – Ball State (16-3, 5-3)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018
Time: 1:30 PM CT
Location: Muncie, Ind. • Worthen Arena
TV: ESPN3
Radio: WSQR 92.9 &1180 AM
 
SERIES HISTORY
Ball State owns a 34-19 advantage in the all-time series history between the two schools, including a 17-7 record in games played in Muncie. The two teams split the season series last year, with each team winning on the other's home floor. The Huskies scored a 101-96 victory over the Cardinals at Worthen Arena on Jan. 28, 2017. It was the highest-scoring game between the two schools in series history.
 
WHEN LAST WE MET
Ball State posted a 92-84 victory over the Huskies at the Convocation Center, Feb. 18, 2017. Three Cardinals finished in double figures with Moriah Monaco and Renee Bennett each finishing with 22 points. Ally Lehman led all scorers with 27 points, with 17 coming in the fourth quarter. Cassidy Glenn posted a double-double hauling in 22 boards and scoring 15 points. The Huskies held Ball State to just 3-of-16 shooting in the final quarter, but Cardinals hit 10 of their final 11 free throws to keep NIU at bay and leave DeKalb with the win.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NIU fell victim to the three-ball as the Huskie fell to Ohio, 77-75, Wednesday night at the Ohio Convocation Center. Ohio shot 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the field, but 42.9 percent from three-point land. More than half of the Bobcats' made baskets were from beyond the arc as Ohio hit 15-of-35 three pointers. Ohio's Katie Barker led all scorers with 24 points, going 8-of-13 from the field, all from three-point territory. Kelly Smith and Courtney Woods each posted double-doubles with Smith leading the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
 
CLOSE CALLS
Seven of NIU's eight conference games this season have been decided by five points or less, including a two-point setback at Ohio. The Huskies are 2-6 in those games. Last season, NIU participated in eight games decided by five points or less, winning six and losing two. The Huskies have played in seven games this season decided by three points or less and are 3-4 in such contests.
 
TWO TO TANGO
The Huskies' 77-75 loss at Ohio was the fifth game this season decided by two points or less and dropped NIU to 3-2 in such contests this season. Each of NIU's first three games of conference play was decided by two points. The Huskies opened MAC play with a 67-65 loss at Miami, before beating Kent State (Jan. 3), 81-79, and Buffalo (Jan. 6), 86-84, in overtime. NIU posted a 96-94 win over Western Illinois in the 2017-18 home opener on Nov. 18.
 
NIU IN THE MAC
The Huskies fell to 160-240 all time in Mid-American Conference games after their loss at Ohio Wednesday night in the Ohio Convocation Center. NIU is 18-25 in league play under head coach Lisa Carlsen.
 
NIU VS. MAC WEST
With its loss to Eastern Michigan, the Huskies fell to 97-172 all-time and 0-4 this season versus teams from the Mid-American Conference's West Division. NIU is 7-18 versus West foes under Lisa Carlsen, including a 6-6 mark last year.
 
NIU VS. MAC EAST
With its setback at Ohio (Jan. 24), the Huskies fell to 103-102 all-time and 2-2 this season versus teams from the Mid-American Conference's East Division. The Huskies fell to Miami, 67-65, in the conference opener and defeated Kent State Jan. 3. NIU is 13-7 versus East foes under Lisa Carlsen, including an 8-1 mark last year. NIU owns winning records over Akron (20-11), Buffalo (16-8), Miami (19-18) and Ohio (18-17). NIU's next game versus a MAC East foe is Wednesday, Jan. 31 when the Huskies play host to Miami.
 
PURSUING 1,000
Mikayla Voigt is 35 points away from joining her teammates Courtney Woods and Kelly Smith in the 1,000-career-point club with 965 career points after scoring seven points at Ohio. 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.
 
GOT A MINUTE?
Mikayla Voigt leads the league in minutes played and minutes played per game and ranks 117th and 56th in the nation in those categories, respectively. Voigt has played 688 minutes in 19 games this season averaging 36.21 minutes played a game.
 
MILLENNIALS
Courtney Woods and Kelly Smith became the first Huskie teammates to reach the 1,000-career point plateau in the same game, almost on back-to-back buckets, as the Huskie duo scored 22 and 18 points, respectively, in NIU's victory over Loyola. Woods scored her 1,000th-point on the Huskies' second to last basket of the first half, while Smith hit NIU's opening shot of the second half to score her 1,000th-career point. Woods has 1,251 career points in 82 games at NIU, while Smith is right behind her with 1,193 in 106 contests.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Courtney Woods recorded her team-best fourth double-double of the season when she scored 17 points and hauled in 10 rebounds at Ohio. The Aussie also posted double-doubles versus Western Illinois (Nov. 18), Buffalo (Jan. 6) and Central Michigan (Jan. 17). Kelly Smith became joined Woods and Ally May as the only Huskies with multiple double-double games this season when she scored 18 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds against the Bobcats. It was the second time this season, two Huskies recoded a double-double in the same game. May posted her double-doubles against Western Illinois and Miami (Dec. 30).
 
Player                                                 Game                     Pts.             Rebs.           Assist
Kelly Smith                          Ohio                18            12
Courtney Woods                  Ohio                17            10
Courtney Woods                  C. Michigan      25            10            --
Mikayla Voigt                       Toledo             16            --            10
Courtney Woods                  Buffalo            17            10            --
Ally May                              Miami              16            11            --
Myia Starks                         Albany             19            10            --
Kelly Smith                          Chicago St.      23            10            --
Courtney Woods                  W. Illinois         39            11            --
Ally May                              W. Illinois         10            16            --
 
DEFENDING THE GLASS
NIU recorded a season-high 42 defensive rebounds in its victory over the Bulls as the Huskies out-rebounded Buffalo, 59-58. The Huskies lead the MAC and are 12th in the country in defensive rebounds, grabbing 30 a game. NIU ranks fourth in the league and 55th in country in rebounds per game, averaging 41.2.
 
ON THE BOARDS
Abby Woollacott turned in her best rebounding performance of her career in NIU's victory over Buffalo, hauling in 13 rebounds and scoring a season-high six points against the Bulls. Her previous career high was 10 rebounds last year versus Ohio (Jan. 7). The Huskie sophomore has 46 rebounds this season, nine shy of breaking last year's total of 54.
 
ON THE REBOUND
NIU tied a Convocation Center record for rebounds in a game when it grabbed a season-high 59 rebounds. The last time the Huskies had 59 rebounds at home was Nov. 11, 2011 versus Western Illinois. Last season, the Huskies had five games of 50 rebounds or more, hauling in a season-high 57 versus Illinois State.
 
FOUR FOR 30
Courtney Woods recorded her third 30-point scoring effort of the season and career when she tallied 31 points against Eastern Michigan. The Huskie junior went 10-of-21 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line in 40 minutes of work. She tied her career high in points scored earlier this season, tallying 39 in NIU's victory over Kent State. The Brisbane, Australia native went a career-high 11-of-19 from the field, including 10-of-12 from the free throw line, also career bests in both categories. Woods also hit a career-high seven three pointers in the contest. She set her career-best mark in points scored with 39 in a victory over Western Illinois (Nov. 18).
 
CASTRO'S CAREER BESTS
Redshirt freshman Paulina Castro established career highs in three offensive categories and tied a fourth in NIU's loss to Eastern Michigan. She scored a career best 14 points, going 5-of-7 from the floor, career highs in field goals and field goals attempted. Her four three pointers made ties her career high in that category set against Sacramento State. Castro saw the first action of her NIU career when she started in the Huskies' season opener at Eastern Illinois. Castro, who sat out all of the 2016-17 season battling Hodgkins Lymphoma, collected one rebound and one assist in 10 minutes of play against the Panthers.
 
WORKING OVERTIME
NIU improved to 1-1 in overtime games this season and 28-25 all-time when it defeated Buffalo, 86-84, in overtime in the Convocation Center. The Huskies fell to Albany, 97-91, in overtime on Dec. 21, 2017 in NIU's final game in Puerto Rico. NIU is 2-3 in overtime affairs under Lisa Carlsen and are 4-2 in double overtime contests all-time.
 
POINT TAKEN
Mikayla Voigt scored a career-high 26 points in NIU's overtime victory over Buffalo in the Convocation Center. The Huskie junior went 8-of-19 from the field, including 4-for-11 from three-point territory, and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. She surpassed her previous career best of 25 set in NIU's overtime setback to Albany in Puerto Rico.
 
HUSKIE HARDWARE
Courtney Woods earned a share of the MAC West Player of the Week following her performances against Kent State and Buffalo. She tied her career high in points with 39 against the Golden Flashes and scored a double-double against the Bulls. It was the junior's second such honor this season. She earned the same honor Nov. 21 following a pair of double-digit scoring efforts against Western Illinois and at Iowa. Myia Starks earned MAC West Player of the Week accolades following her performance at SIUE. The Huskie sophomore set personal bests including points scored (25), made field goals (7), field goals attempted (11), free throws made (11) and field goals attempted (12).
 
CARLSEN CLIMBING
Lisa Carlsen enters her third season as head coach of the NIU Women's Basketball team. She has a 42-40 record at NIU for a .512 winning percentage, putting her behind Rita Horky (1981-83), who finished with a .525 winning percentage (31-28). With the win over Loyola, Carlsen surpassed Liz Galloway-McQuitter for sixth all-time at NIU in wins and has a career record of 226-202 in 15 seasons as a head coach. She needs six wins to pass Alice Textor (1977-81), who tallied a 47-46 record.
 
BRAGGING RIGHTS
With its 86-75 victory at SIUE, NIU improved to 125-123 against Division I teams from the state of Illinois and completed the season sweep of their Illinois opponents, going 6-0 versus in-state rivals. In addition to their win over the Cougars, the Huskies defeated Eastern Illinois, 93-64, in the season opener, Western Illinois, 96-94, Chicago State, 80-59, Bradley, 76-52 and Loyola, 80-71. The Huskies have won their last 10 games versus in-state foes and 15 of their last 16. The Huskies' only loss during that stretch was an 83-79 setback at Western Illinois. NIU is 15-2 overall under Lisa Carlsen against Illinois opponents. The last time the Huskies went undefeated versus teams from the Land of Lincoln was 1989-90 when NIU went 9-0 against in-state competition.
 
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE HONOREE
Junior Mikayla Voigt tallied 19 points in an 80-59 win at Chicago State and against Lamar on 5-of-12 in the tournament finale at the 2017 UTSA Thanksgiving Classic. Those performances, coupled with her 4.0 GPA while pursuing her bachelors degree in nursing, helped her earn MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors from the MAC on Nov. 30. She is the first NIU woman to win the award this year and the second Huskie, joining Football's Jackson Abresch.
 
MAY I HELP YOU
Ally May set career bests in blocks and steals with two in each category against Bradley. She also established career highs in several categories including points (10), field goals made (5), field goal attempts (11) and rebounds (16) in NIU's win over Western Illinois earlier this season. It was also her first career double-double.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Huskies had a season-high five players finish in double figures in their win over Western Illinois. Last season, NIU accomplished the feat seven times and Saturday's quintet of double-digit scorers are the most since Jan. 25, 2017 when six Huskies finished in double figures against Kent State. Courtney Woods led the way with 39 points and Mikayla Voigt followed with 16. Kelly Smith and Janae Poisson tallied 14 and 11 points, respectively, while May finished with 11.
 
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.
 
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.
 
SEEKING A POSTSEASON ENCORE
The Huskies, who made their first postseason appearance since 1995 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.
 
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.
 
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.

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