CLEVELAND, Ohio – Fresh off a thrilling 70-69 win over Western Michigan in the first round of the MAC Tournament Monday night, the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team will face second-seeded Ohio on Wednesday at approximately 4 p.m. CT in the quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena.
 
Senior guard Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) made the eventual game-winning basket with 4.4 seconds left in regulation to beat the Broncos for the second time in three days. NIU won all three games this season against Western Michigan, marking the first time since 2001 that the Huskies beat the same opponent three times in one season. The win was also head coach Lisa Carlsen's 250^th career win as a head coach. Carlsen has won 66 games in her first four seasons at NIU.
 
Voigt was named to the All-MAC Second Team on Tuesday morning. The senior is now fifth on the NIU career scoring chart with 1,727 points. She leads NIU in scoring with 19.6 points per game while shooting 38.3 percent from the three-point arc and 81.3 percent at the free throw line. In the last five games, Voigt has averaged 21.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game while shooting almost 43 percent from long distance.
 
Junior guard Myia Starks (Plainfield, Ill./Nequa Valley) led NIU with 20 points in Monday night's first round win over Western Michigan. It was her third game this season with at least 20 points. Starks was 8-for-13 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free throw line. In the last five games, Starks has averaged 13.4 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.
 
NIU (19-12) won the last meeting between the Huskies and Bobcats in the MAC Tournament in 2017. The Huskies won in the quarterfinals 72-71 on their way to the title game that year.
 
Ohio (25-4) finished the regular winning five of its last six games, including each of its last three. The Bobcats defeated Bowling Green 76-68 in their last game of the regular season. Cece Hooks led Ohio with 22 points and four steals. Amani Burke made 17 points with five three-pointers. Ohio is second in the MAC in scoring, averaging 78.4 points per game, as well as field goal percentage at 35.8 percent. Hooks leads the Bobcats in scoring with 17.4 points per game. The Bobcats won the only meeting against NIU this season 69-53 at the NIU Convocation Center on Jan. 26.
 
The winner of the NIU/Ohio game will face either Toledo or Miami in the semifinals on Friday, March 15.
 
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