Women's Basketball | January 4

DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team rides a four-game winning streak into its Mid-American Conference opener Saturday, when the Huskies host the Miami Redhawks for a 1 p.m. game at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
NIU went 8-4 in non-conference play, posting a perfect 6-0 record at home. The Huskies closed the 2018 calendar year with a 109-102 double overtime win over Brown on Dec. 31. Trailing by five points with 3:31 to play in the second overtime, NIU went on a 13-0 run over the next 2:56 to take a 105-97 lead. Monday's win marked the first time NIU scored over 100 points in back-to-back games since the 1992-93 season. NIU has the second-highest scoring offense in the MAC, averaging 83.4 points per game.
 
Senior guard Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) led all scorers with 36 points, adding 10 rebounds and five assists while playing all 50 minutes. Her performance capped a month of December that saw Voigt improve her scoring average from 13.8 to 22.3 points per game, which is second-best in the MAC and 11^th in the nation. Voigt averaged 28.3 points per game in seven games in December, shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 47.9 percent from the three-point line. She is second in the nation with 4.0 three-pointers per game and 11^th in scoring at 22.3 points per game.
 
Myia Starks (Plainfield, Ill./Nequa Valley) and Ally May (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) both tied career-highs in scoring against Brown. Starks had 25 points and six rebounds against the Bears, with 19 points coming in the final 30 minutes. She has scored in double figures in each of the last three games, and six of the last seven overall. May was 8-for-11 from the field in scoring 16 points while pulling down a career-high 17 rebounds. She is fourth in the MAC in rebounding at 7.3 boards per game.
 
Miami (9-2) was picked to finish second in the MAC East in the Preseason Coaches Poll behind Buffalo. The Redhawks capped a 5-1 December with a 74-29 win over Ohio Dominican on Dec. 29. Kendall McCoy led Miami with 14 points in the victory, adding six rebounds. Lauren Dickerson, named to the All-MAC East Preseason Team, leads Miami in scoring with 14.2 points per game. The Redhawks lead the MAC in scoring defense, allowing 55.2 points per game.
 
Saturday is Military Appreciation Day at the Convocation Center. Those with a Military ID can show it at the Box Office for a free ticket to the game. Tickets are on sale at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
 
--NIU--