DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team jumps into Mid-American Conference play Thursday night (Dec. 10) against the Toledo Rockets. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be available on ESPN3.
 
Thursday's game marks the earliest conference opener for NIU since the start of the 1997-98 season when the Huskies opened the season against Central Michigan on November 24, 1997 and at Western Michigan on December 1.
 
NIU (2-1) is riding a two-game winning streak after winning its two games in the Compass Challenge last weekend at Eastern Illinois. The Huskies made a school-record 18 three-pointers on December 5 to rally from an early 15-point deficit to defeat Eastern Illinois 82-72. Sophomore Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) was a perfect 5-for-5 from the three-point line against the Panthers, becoming the first Huskie to accomplish that since Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) on Nov. 26, 2016 against Illinois State.
 
The Huskies finished off the 2-0 weekend with a 79-67 win over Western Illinois on December 5. Sophomore guard Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) scored a career-high 25 points with a career-high nine rebounds. Poisson added 20 points off the bench.
 
NIU leads the MAC in three-pointers made per game at 12.3, which puts the Huskies sixth in the nation in three-pointers per game. The Huskies' 31 three-pointers over the two games in the Compass Challenge are the most for NIU over a two-game span since November 22 and 26, 2016 when NIU combined for 28 threes against Chicago State (15) and Illinois State (13). NIU has four of the top 10 three-point shooters in the league by three-pointers per game led by Poisson's 3.3 per game, which puts her third in the MAC. As a team, the Huskies are second in the MAC in three-point field goal percentage at 39.8 percent.
 
Toledo (2-0) comes to DeKalb after a home win over Detroit Mercy 75-65 on Saturday. Quinesha Lockett led the Rockets with 17 points as Sammi Mikonowicz had a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. Lockett is averaging a team-high 19.5 points per game with Mikonowicz averaging 12.5 points and a team-high 10.5 rebounds per game.
 
Although fans are unable to attend NIU basketball games this season, 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.
 
 
--NIU--