DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team opens a four-game homestand Monday night when it takes on the Eastern Illinois Panthers at 5:30 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center. The game is the first of a doubleheader with the NIU men's basketball team taking on Western Illinois at 8 p.m.

The Huskies return to action following final exams with a 5-4 record after splitting games at the Compass Challenge Dec. 7-8. Senior guard Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) earned two Mid-American Conference weekly honors for her record-breaking game against Western Illinois on Dec. 8. Her 52 points and 11 three-pointers against the Leathernecks helped her to the MAC West Player of the Week and MAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Week awards. It was the second time in three weeks Voigt was named MAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Week.
 
Voigt averaged 35.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game against Southern Illinois and Western Illinois at the Compass Challenge. She shot 62.5 percent from the field and the three-point line in those two games. The senior is fifth in the nation in three-pointers made per game at 4.0, which puts her second in the MAC. In the last five games, Voigt is 27-for-56 from long distance with at least four three-pointers in four of those games. During this stretch, she is averaging 25 points per game.
 
While Voigt was setting records at the Compass Challenge, sophomore guard Gabby Nikitinaite (Orpington, Kent, UK) has quite the weekend as well. In her first start of the season on Dec. 7, Nikitinaite scored a career-high 27 points against Southern Illinois. She followed that up with 15 points, a career-high nine assists, and seven rebounds in NIU's 86-61 win over Western Illinois. Nikitinaite averaged 21 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists in the Huskies' two games at the Compass Challenge.
 
NIU leads the all-time series with Eastern Illinois 18-12. The Huskies have won three of the last four meetings against the Panthers, including last season's 93-64 season-opening win at Eastern Illinois. Kelly Smith led NIU with 26 points in the victory, as Voigt and Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) each scored 14 points.
 
Eastern Illinois is 4-4 on the year after also going 1-1 at the Compass Challenge. The Panthers held on for a 62-60 win over Western Illinois on Dec. 7 before losing to Southern Illinois 73-59. Sophomore guard Karle Price leads Eastern Illinois in scoring with 14.1 points per game, having scored in double-figures in six straight games. As a team, Eastern Illinois is averaging 69.4 points per game and allowing 59.5 points per game.
 
Tickets for Monday's game, as well as all remaining NIU women's basketball games, are on sale at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
 
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