DEKALB, Ill. – The seventh-seeded Northern Illinois University women's basketball team will take on the No. 10 seed Western Michigan in the first round of the 2019 Mid-American Conference Tournament on Monday, March 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center. The game is the first of a doubleheader as the NIU men's basketball team will face Ohio 30 minutes following the women's game.
 
Tickets are available through the NIU Convocation Center Box Office, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225), or by logging on to NIUHuskies.com/tickets. NIU students can get free admission to Monday's games by showing their university ID.
 
NIU (18-12, 10-8 MAC) won double-digit conference games for the second time in three seasons this year. The Huskies defeated Western Michigan 74-71 on Saturday at University Arena, erasing an eight-point halftime deficit. NIU was 22-for-25 at the free throw line in the win over the Broncos, going 9-for-9 in the fourth quarter. Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) was 10-for-13 at the foul line Saturday on her way to a game-high 26 points. Voigt finished the regular season fourth in the MAC in scoring at 20.1 points per game, third in three-point field goal percentage at 38.8 percent, and second with 3.2 three-pointers per game.
 
The Huskies are 12-3 at the Convocation Center this season, the most wins for NIU on its home floor since the 1993-94 season. NIU has averaged 77.7 points per game at home this year, winning by an average of 11.5 points per game and shooting 41.6 percent from the field. The Huskies have scored at least 70 points 11 times at the Convocation Center this season, all wins.
 
Western Michigan (10-19, 4-14 MAC) went 2-4 down the stretch to finish MAC play 4-14. Sophomore forward Leighah-Amori Wool led the Broncos with 19 points, with four three-pointers on Saturday. Senior guard Deja Wimby had 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, and a game-high five steals. Wimby leads the Broncos in scoring with 13.8 points per game while adding 6.5 rebounds per game. Wool averages 12 points per game and shoots 32.5 percent from three.
 
NIU swept the season series against the Broncos, winning the first meeting at the Convocation Center 77-64 on Feb. 18. The winner of Monday's game will face the second-seed Ohio on Wednesday, March 13 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland in the quarterfinals.
 
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