GAME INFO
NIU (10-4, 2-1) – Western Michigan (9-6, 2-1)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018
Time: 6 PM CT
Location: DeKalb, Ill. • University Arena
TV: ESPN3
Radio: 1360 AM WLBK
 
SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan leads the all-time series 36-23, including a 6-21 record at University Arena. The last Huskie win in Kalamazoo was Feb. 24, 2016 when NIU posted an 80-70 victory. NIU split last year's regular season meetings, with each team winning on their home floor. However, the Huskies defeated Western Michigan 83-55 in the 2017 MAC Tournament in Cleveland.
 
WHEN LAST WE MET
The NIU women's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the 2017 MAC Tournament by defeating Western Michigan, 83-55, in the semifinals. Courtney Woods led all scorers with 19 points as the Huskies had five other players finish in double figures. The Huskies outshot Western Michigan, 44.4-30.8 percent and went 17-of-21 from the free throw line.
           
LAST TIME OUT
Mikayla Voigt's career-high 26 points and a solid defensive effort helped lead the Huskies to an 86-84 overtime victory over Buffalo. Abby Woollacott tallied a career-high 13 rebounds in the game and the Huskies came up with three defensive stops in the closing seconds of overtime to seal the win. Courtney Woods finished with a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
 
TWO TO TANGO
The Huskies' 86-84 win over Buffalo was the third straight game and fourth of the season to be decided by two points or less. NIU is 3-1 in such contests with a 96-94 win over Western Illinois, and an 81-79 triumph over Kent State. The Huskies' only loss by two points or less this season was a 67-65 decision at Miami in the conference opener.
 
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 Saturday. 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 Saturday 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.
 
ON THE BOARDS
Sophomore 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).
 
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).
 
NIU IN THE MAC
The Huskies improved to 160-235 all time in Mid-American Conference games after their win over Buffalo in the Convocation Center Saturday afternoon. NIU is 18-20 in league play under head coach Lisa Carlsen.
 
PURSUING 1,000
Mikayla Voigt is 86 points away from joining her teammates in the 1,000-career-point club with 914 career points following her 26-point performance versus Buffalo. 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.
 
HUSKIES AT HOME
NIU improved to 5-0 at home this season and 322-218 all-time when it defeated Buffalo Saturday afternoon. The Huskies are 19-11 in the Convocation Center under NIU head coach Lisa Carlsen. The last time NIU went undefeated at home was in the 1992-93 campaign when the Huskies went 13-0.
 
NIU VS. MAC EAST
With its victory over Buffalo Saturday, the Huskies improved to 103-101 all-time and 2-1 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 VS. MAC EAST
With its victory over Buffalo Saturday, the Huskies improved to 103-101 all-time and 2-1 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).
 
CARLSEN CLIMBING
Lisa Carlsen enters her third season as head coach of the NIU Women's Basketball team. She has a 42-35 record at NIU for a .545 winning percentage, surpassing Cherri Block (1983-84), who finished with a .536 winning percentage (15-13). With the win over Loyola, Carlsen surpassed Liz Galloway-McQuitter for sixth all-time at NIU in wins and has a career record of 226-198 in 15 seasons as a head coach. She needs six wins to pass Alice Textor (1977-81), who tallied a 47-46 record.
 
MONEY FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Mikayla Voight, who entered the season as NIU's career leader in free throw percentage, improved her percentage to .847, eight points ahead of Stephanie Raymond (2003-07), who owns an .839 free throw percentage after going 6-for-6 in NIU's win over Buffalo. Voigt has hit 32-of-39 from the free throw line this season and 138-163 for her career.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Courtney Woods recorded her second double-double of the season, joining Ally May as the only two Huskies to record two double-doubles this year, when she tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds in NIU's 86-84 overtime win over Buffalo. Woods' first double-double on the year came in NIU's 96-94 victory over Western Illinois. It was Woods' sixth double-double of her career. The Huskie junior had three last season and one in 2015-16.
 
Player                                 Game             Pts.        Rebs.
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
 
OUT OF THE WOODS
Courtney Woods tied her career high in points scored, tallying 39 in NIU's victory over Kent State. The Huskie junior 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.
 
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.
 
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 sixth in the country in defensive rebounds, grabbing 31 a game. NIU ranks third in the league and 37th in country in rebounds per game, averaging 42.6.
 
STARKS STEPPING TO THE LINE
Myia Starks ranks second in the MAC and 32nd in the nation free throw shooting after going 2-for-2 from the line against Buffalo. She leads NIU in free-throw percentage, going 39-for-45 from the charity stripe for a free throw percentage of .867. She made a career best 11of-12 attempts in her 25-point performance at SIUE.
 
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 1,139 career points in 77 games at NIU, while Smith is right behind her with 1,099 in 101 contests.
 
CASTRO'S CAREER BESTS
Redshirt freshman Paulina Castro established career highs in five offensive categories including points (12) field goals made (4), field goals attempted (6), three pointers made (4) and three pointers attempted (6) in NIU's victory over 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.
 
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.
 
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Five Huskies saw their first action 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.