DeKALB, IL – Junior forward A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) tied a career-high with 21 points and added a game-high 13 rebounds as the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team defeated the Bradley Braves 80-59 at the NIU Convocation Center Monday night.
 
"We came out of the locker room ready to go tonight," said head coach Lisa Carlsen following NIU's second home win of the season. "I liked a lot of things that we did on both ends of the floor in the first half, and we were able to maintain some things at times in the second half. It's a really good basketball team that we just beat and we did it with 12 different players which is awesome."
 
Davis was 9-for-18 from the field and 3-for-5 from the free throw line. She was also one of three Huskies to have three assists in the game. Senior Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon made five of seven shots from the field with two threes. It's the first time NIU had two players record double-doubles in the same game since Davis and Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) did it against Toledo on Dec 10, 2020.
 
NIU (2-1) grabbed control of the game midway through the opening quarter. Brandon and Koker made back-to-back threes in an 8-0 run that put the Huskies ahead 14-8 with 4:12 to play in the first. The Braves closed the gap to three with 1:49 left in the quarter on a Tete Danso layup but NIU responded with a 7-0 run, capped by an Emily Meinert (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College) three-point play, to go ahead 27-17 with 0:34 left in the first. The Huskies shot 60 percent from the floor in the first 10 minutes to take a 29-19 lead.
 
"We felt we'd have opportunities to get the ball in the paint to A'Jah or Mikayla and let them go to work or find an open teammate," Carlsen said. "I credit my staff for a great scouting report and preparing us for what Bradley was going to show and our team executed very well."
 
Bradley (3-1) cut the lead to eight early in the second on a three-pointer from Caroline Waite, making the score 32-24 with 8:02 left until halftime. Koker and Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) combined to score the next eight points in the game to give NIU a 16-point edge, 40-24, at the 5:43 mark of the second quarter. That duo combined to score 29 points on the night with Koker scoring 18 and Poisson 11. The Huskies held Bradley scoreless for the last 3:30 of the half to take a 47-28 lead into the break.
 
After a Gabi Haack three-pointer opened the scoring in the third quarter, NIU went on a 10-1 run over 1:51 to take a 57-32 lead with 7:39 to go. Brandon scored five of the 10 points as Poisson added a three and Davis a jumper in the lane. NIU took its largest lead of the game at the 5:14 mark of the quarter, when a Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) layup put the Huskies up by 28 63-35. The Braves got as close as 16 points in the fourth quarter but could not overcome NIU's stifling defense on the night. The Huskies forced 13 turnovers and held Bradley to 34 percent shooting from the field and 29.6 percent from long range.
 
NIU held a 42-34 edge on the glass Monday night, converting 15 offense rebounds into 20 second chance points. The Huskies also made 16 of 22 free throws. Haack led all scorers with 27 points for Bradley.
 
The Huskies are home again against the Milwaukee Panthers on Sunday, Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. Season tickets for the 2021-22 NIU women's basketball season start at $35 for a General Admission seat. A Reserved season ticket (sections 103, 112 and 113) costs $50. For more ticket information, log on to NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies or call 815-753-PACK (7225). Courtside seats and other premium options are available through the Huskie Athletic Fund at 815-753-1923 or by logging on to HuskieAthleticFund.com.
 
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