DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team is back in action on Saturday, February 1 to take on the defending Mid-American Conference tournament champions Buffalo at 12 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader at the NIU Convocation Center.
Saturday's game is Diversity and Inclusion Day, as well as Faculty and Staff Appreciation. All NIU faculty and staff members can receive free admission by showing their OneCard ID at the Box Office on Saturday. The Kids Zone will be open one hour prior to tip-off and also following the game. Tickets are available now online at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling the NIU Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
NIU (5-13, 1-6 MAC) is looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses to Ohio and Eastern Michigan last week. The Huskies held a 30-29 halftime edge at Eastern Michigan on January 25 but the Eagles forced 12 NIU turnovers and held NIU under 30 percent shooting from the field in the second half to win 62-55.
Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's) led NIU with a season-high 27 points and nine rebounds at Eastern Michigan. It was her fourth consecutive 20-point game and fifth in the last six games. She now has 1,983 career points, putting her 17 away from becoming the third Huskie in program history to reach 2,000 points. Woods is fifth among active NCAA Division I women's basketball players in career points and sixth with 298 career three-pointers.
Saturday's game features two of the top rebounding teams in the Mid-American Conference. Buffalo leads the MAC with 43.4 rebounds per game with NIU tied for second at 40.4. The Huskies have been outrebounded just once in the last seven games. It also has the second and third-leading scorers in the league in Woods and Dyaisha Fair. Woods is third in the MAC in scoring at 17.9 points per game and Fair is second with 22.5 points per game.
Buffalo (13-6, 4-4 MAC) was picked to finish second in the MAC East behind Ohio in the preseason. The Bulls are 4-4 in the league after a 98-93 double overtime loss to MAC West leaders Central Michigan on Wednesday night. Fair led Buffalo with 29 points in the game as Theresa Onwuka came close to a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine steals. Buffalo enters the game second in the MAC in field goal percentage defense at 37.2 percent.
NIU leads the all-time series with Buffalo 15-9. The Huskies had won three straight meetings against the Bulls before a 93-64 loss at Buffalo last season. NIU is 9-3 all-time against Buffalo at the NIU Convocation Center.
The Huskies are next in action at Central Michigan on Wednesday, February 5 at 6 p.m. CT.
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