Women's Basketball | November 24
DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team opens its 2020-21 season on Wednesday afternoon when it takes on the IUPUI Jaguars at 1 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has already had an effect on the Huskies' schedule, as NIU was originally slated to face Illinois State in the opener. However, Illinois State announced last Friday it was pausing its team activities due to COVID-19 protocols. NIU made the announcement Monday night that IUPUI will be the new opponent for Wednesday's season opener.
Wednesday's game will be available over the air on WLBK 98.9 FM and 1360 AM, as well as on the NIU Huskies mobile app. It can also be heard on the TuneIn app.
NIU will have a new look in head coach
Lisa Carlsen's sixth season following the graduation of five seniors, including two-time First Team All-Mid-American Conference selection and the second-leading scorer in program history
Courtney Woods. Woods led NIU in scoring, rebounding, and assists last season with 18.5 points, six rebounds, and three assists per game. The Huskies posted an 11-19 record in the MAC last season, going 7-11 in league play. NIU was selected to finish eighth in the league this season in the 2020-21 MAC preseason coaches poll.
The Huskies finished the 2019-20 season second in the MAC in rebounds per game (42.4) and rebound margin (+1.9). It was the third consecutive year NIU had a positive rebound margin. Seven different Huskies averaged over three rebounds per game last season, with sophomore forward
A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) returning as NIU's top rebounder after averaging 4.8 boards per game as a freshman. Senior
Riley Blackwell (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) averaged 4.5 rebounds per game last season. That duo combined to average 11.5 points per game in 2019-20.
NIU's top returning scorer is sophomore guard
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran), who averaged 8.2 points per game over all 30 games in her freshman year. Koker was one of three NIU players to make over 40 three-pointers in the 2019-20 season. Fellow sophomore
Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) shot over 35 percent from the three-point line last season in 25 games played. The Huskies' backcourt depth is strengthened this season by the return of redshirt-juniors
Errin Hodges (Pontiac, Ill./Evansville Central [Ind.]) and
Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) as well as redshirt-senior
Paulina Castro (Elgin, Ill./Harvest Christian).
Wednesday's game is the sixth meeting all-time between NIU and IUPUI and the first since 2009. The Jaguars posted a 23-7 record last season and won the Horizon League regular season and tournament championships. IUPUI was unanimously chosen as the preseason favorites in the Horizon League for this season, led by two-time reigning Player of the Year Macee Williams who averaged 17.5 points and nine rebounds per game last season.
Fan attendance is prohibited at non-conference basketball games but Huskie fans can make their presence felt by purchasing a cutout as part of the "Huskie Howl" presented by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO).
Fans can put their image on a cutout for just $60 that will remain in the NIU Convocation Center for all NIU men's and women's basketball games during the 2020-21 season. Net proceeds from the sales of fan cutouts benefit the Huskie Athletic Fund.
Click here to order your cutout.
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