Moments And Milestones Of The 2019-20 Women's Basketball Season

Expectations were high for the Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team heading into the 2019-20 season. Despite losing All-Mid American Conference Second Team selection Mikayla Voigt to graduation, the Huskies were coming off a MAC Tournament quarterfinals appearance for the second time in three years. With the return of Courtney Woods from a season-ending injury in 2018, the MAC coaches picked NIU to finish second in the MAC West and Woods for the Preseason All-MAC West team.

Thirty games later, NIU finished the season 11-19 with a 7-11 record in conference play. Despite the overall record, the Huskies hit a good stretch late in February winning three out of four games heading into their MAC Tournament first round matchup at Eastern Michigan.

“We were definitely playing our best basketball towards the end of the season,” said head coach Lisa Carlsen. “Courtney’s milestones are something that can’t be undersold or underplayed as far as what she’s been able to accomplish. I think our freshman class showed a ton of promise and had valuable game minutes that will be really beneficial for them going forward. Regardless, this team was very resilient. They found ways to stay together during tough times.”

Woods’ accomplishments were immense in the 2019-20 season. On December 19 she became NIU’s all-time leader in three-pointers made as her five threes against Eastern Illinois in a 61-48 win put her past Kylie York’s 278. Woods scored 20 points in the second half against the Panthers to help NIU overcome a four-point halftime deficit. The record-breaking three came with 0:19 left and put the exclamation point on the 13-point win. 

The redshirt-senior hit her scoring stride in MAC play, scoring at least 20 points in five of the first seven games. Woods became the third 2,000-point scorer in NIU women’s basketball history at Central Michigan on February 5, posting her first double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Huskies pushed the then-unbeaten Chippewas to the brink in a 66-60 loss. She passed Carol Owens for second on the NIU career scoring list at Ball State two weeks later, scoring 18 points to put her tally at 2,104 points. Woods became NIU’s career leader games played in the final regular season game at Toledo on March 7. In her 129th game as a Huskie, Woods scored a season-high 36 points with 23 in the second half as NIU won at Savage Arena for just the second time since 2007.

In 130 games, Woods scored 2,216 points and scored in double-figures 109 times. Her 17.0 points per game average is the fifth-best in NIU history. Her 83.8 percent free throw shooting is the second-highest career percentage in program history. She holds not only the career three-pointers record but is the only NIU women’s basketball player to make over 100 threes in a season, accomplishing that feat in the 2016-17 season. Woods earned All-MAC First Team honors in each of her last two full seasons at NIU, earning that spot in 2017-18 after leading the MAC in scoring at 22.1 points per game and this season where she averaged 18.5 points per game. 

NIU’s resiliency showed early in the season. In the second game of the season at North Dakota State, the Huskies erased a nine-point deficit and got a layup from Gabby Nikitinaite with 0:03 left in regulation to force overtime. NIU won the game 74-68, outscoring the Bison 10-4 in the extra period. One week later the Huskies came back from 12 points down at Colorado State to once again win in overtime 80-75, marking the first time in program history NIU had won back-to-back overtime games in the same season. 

After starting 1-6 in MAC play, the Huskies earned a key win over Buffalo at the Convocation Center on February 1. Down by four points with one minute to play, Nikitinaite knocked down a three to get NIU within one, 63-62. After forcing a turnover with 24 seconds left, the Huskies had a chance to win the game. With five seconds left, Nikitinaite drove from the corner, drew two defenders, and found an open Ally May under the basket to give NIU the 64-63 win. 

One week later, the Huskies erased a five-point deficit in the final minute at Bowling Green with a Blackwell three with five seconds left putting the game in overtime tied at 80. NIU scored the first seven points in overtime and came away with a 92-87 win with Woods scoring 32 points. In the next game against Miami the Huskies rebounded from an 18-point first-quarter hole to force overtime tied at 75 on a May layup in the final seconds of regulation. On this Wednesday night it was Woods who emerged as the hero, making the game-winning shot with 0:05 left on the clock in an 86-84 victory that was NIU’s third in four games. 

“A lot of those come-from-behind wins are a tribute to our seniors and their experience,” said Carlsen. “Being in that position at times during their careers, where they really had that never-die attitude because they had been a part of those kind of comebacks, those are things that are hard to teach. I don’t think there was ever a time that we didn’t think we would have a chance or wouldn’t be able to overcome some of the deficits that we put ourselves in.”

While the Huskies graduate five seniors from this season’s team, the future looks bright. NIU’s three freshmen – A’Jah Davis, Grace Hunter, and Chelby Koker – each played at least 25 games with Koker appearing in all 30. Koker was named the Sixth Woman of the Tournament at the South Point Shootout at the end of November, averaging 15.5 points per game against Tennessee Tech and South Dakota. In her last nine games, Koker averaged 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Davis finished the season as NIU’s third-leading rebounder, averaging 4.8 per game. On January 22 Davis had her first career double-double with 17 points and 17 rebounds against Ohio. Hunter scored a season-high 19 points in her first career start at Milwaukee, going 8-for-12 from the field with three three-pointers. She wrapped up her rookie campaign shooting 35 percent from the three-point arc.