DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball tied the NIU Convocation Center single-game scoring record Friday night with 114 points in a 114-52 win over the Chicago State Cougars. It was the Huskies' third consecutive win and kept their record perfect on the home floor.
 
"We came out with great energy right from the tip," said head coach Lisa Carlsen, who saw her Huskies go to 5-0 on the year at the NIU Convocation Center. "That was really important. We knew we had to get out to a good start. Mikayla [Voigt] knocked down a three on the first play of the game and that set the tone. We did some nice things on both ends of the floor and I really like what I see on the stat sheet."
 
The Huskies tied a Convocation Center record that was set on Nov. 16, 2016 when NIU defeated Milwaukee 114-104 in double overtime. That was also the last time NIU eclipsed the century mark. Friday night was also the Huskies' first win by at least 60 points since a 65-point win over Milwaukee, 117-52, on March 2, 1996. Friday night's win was NIU's second-highest margin of victory since women's basketball joined the NCAA in the 1982-83 season.
 
Senior guard Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) led all scorers with 29 points, adding a season-high eight assists to go with six rebounds. Gabby Nikitinaite (Orpington, Kent, UK/Coopers School) had 19 points and seven rebounds. Myia Starks (Oswego, Ill./Nequa Valley) and Paulina Castro (Elgin, Ill./Harvest Christian) each had 14 points as Ally May (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) scored 12 points.
 
NIU (7-4) jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first 2:43 of the game, with Voigt scoring nine of the first 12 points. Chicago State cut the deficit to seven, 14-7, at the 4:45 mark on five straight points from Taylor Robinson. Sparked by back-to-back layups by Abby Woollacott (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Lutheran), the Huskies closed the quarter on an 11-4 run, as a Nikitinaite triple and May layup put NIU up 25-11 after the opening period. NIU ran away in the second quarter.
 
The Huskies went on a 19-0 run over 4:26 to take a 48-18 lead. NIU made seven straight shots from the field, including threes from Castro and Ninni Salmi (Kauhajoki, Finland/San Francisco), capped off by a Myia Starks jumper at the 2:42 mark. The Huskies shot over 60 percent from the field in the second quarter to take a 52-22 halftime lead.
 
"The fact that we were able to play in the open court and play off each other is what led to a lot of easy shots for us," said Voigt, who led NIU in scoring for the third consecutive game. "It all starts on the defensive end, getting a rebound, and pushing the ball."
 
In the third quarter, NIU used a 16-2 run to take a 77-32 lead with 4:18 to play in the third quarter. The Huskies shot over 63 percent from the field in both the third and fourth quarters. Castro's third three-pointer of the game put NIU at the century mark, 100-44, with 5:35 to play in the game. Each Huskie that played scored at least five points as NIU shot a season-high 59.5 percent from the field in scoring a season-high 114 points. NIU also set a season-high with 29 assists on 47 made baskets.
 
"Not only did we shoot the ball well tonight, but we shared the basketball," Carlsen added. "The more we share the basketball, and the more comfortable the five that are on the floor at any given time get, taking good shots that are good for them, makes for a fun brand of basketball and I know these guys did a good job of getting the ball to their teammates to put them in a position to be successful."
 
NIU continues its current homestand on Monday, Dec. 31 when the Huskies host Brown at 1 p.m. Tickets for the New Year's Eve matchup are available at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
 
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