DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team used a 23-10 third quarter and shooting 46.4 percent from the field to win its season opener 77-60 over the Illinois State Redbirds Tuesday night at the NIU Convocation Center.
"I couldn't be more pleased and more happy with a lot of people tonight," said head coach
Lisa Carlsen following Tuesday night's victory. "Our balance in scoring the basketball and our defensive effort for 40 minutes was phenomenal. We were able to keep Illinois State off balance and did a great job on the glass."
NIU (1-0) had all five of its starters score in double figures on the night. Junior guard
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led all scorers with 17 points, adding six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) had a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
"I thought Chelby did a great job, especially in the first half," Carlsen said. "In the first half when she needed to get a couple buckets for us, she did. Her command of the offense in the second half was critical and she facilitated well. We got A'Jah going as well early and she's a lot to handle in the bottom half of the lane and she was able to get some big rebounds for us as well."
Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) made four three-pointers on her way to 16 points.
Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) had 11 points and five rebounds as
Errin Hodges (Pontiac, Ill./Evansville Central [Ind.]) had 10 points.
The Huskies built a 25-18 lead nearly midway through the second quarter when Poisson's first three of the game put NIU up seven. Illinois State then rattled off 11 straight points over 2:59 as threes from Jada Stinson, Mary Crompton and Maya Wong gave the Redbirds a 29-25 lead with 1:53 to go until halftime. NIU closed the half on a 7-0 run sparked by a Davis layup to take a 32-29 lead into the locker room.
The run extended into a 12-2 run in the third quarter, as a Brandon triple and another Davis layup gave NIU a 37-31 lead with 8:52 left in the period. NIU's defense was on point in the third, holding Illinois State without a field goal for the first 8:13 of the quarter. The Huskies built the lead to 16 with a 14-2 run midway through the third, highlighted by three-pointers from Brandon and Poisson, to go ahead 51-35 at the 2:47 mark.
Illinois State (0-1) got within 12 with 1:18 to play in the third when back-to-back baskets from DeAnna Wilson and JuJu Redmond made the score 51-39. NIU scored the final four points of the quarter to go back up 16, 55-39. The Huskies shot 56.3 percent from the field in the third and held Illinois State to 21.4 percent and 0-for-4 from the three-point line. NIU put its lead over 20 points in the fourth quarter. Powered by seven points from Poisson, the Huskies went on an 11-3 run over 2:20 to take a 68-47 lead with 5:44 to play in the game.
The Huskies held a 43-32 rebounding edge and scored 22 points off 14 offensive rebounds. NIU also scored 19 points off 15 Illinois State turnovers. Redmond led the Redbirds with 12 points as Stinson added 10 off the bench.
"Every team on our schedule is going to challenge us in different ways," added Carlsen. "We knew that Illinois State was going to come in and be real physical and good defensively. We're going to see from Harvard a really fluid offense that has a lot of skill, so it'll be a little different game and its own challenge. I think this group is excited to play as much basketball as possible so we'll go to Boston and see what happens."
NIU is next in action on Sunday, Nov. 14 when the Huskies head to Harvard to face the Crimson. Tip-off is at 1 p.m. with the being telecast on ESPN+ and broadcast locally on WLBK 98.9 FM/1360 AM.
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