Women's Basketball | December 11

DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team returns to action this Sunday afternoon when it travels to Drake for a matchup with the Bulldogs. Tip-off at the Knapp Center is set for 2 p.m. with the game available locally on WLBK 98.9 FM/1360 AM as well as being telecast on ESPN+.
 
NIU (3-3) looks to get back in the win column after losses to Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois last weekend at the Compass Challenge hosted by Western Illinois. The Huskies made 24 three-pointers in the two games, with a season-high 13 against the Leathernecks. Redshirt-Freshman guard Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) made five threes in that game with Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) adding four. Poisson tied a career-high with five triples against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 4, putting her atop the Mid-American Conference with 3.33 three-pointers per game. NIU is third in the MAC in three-pointers per game at 9.2, putting the Huskies in the top-20 nationally for long distance makes.
 
Junior guard Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) averaged 22.0 points, 7.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game at the Compass Challenge. On Tuesday, Koker was named the MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week for her efforts. Last Saturday, Koker recorded her second career double-double with 29 points and a career-high 11 assists while tying a career-high with six steals. Koker's points-assists double-double was the first by a Huskie since Mikayla Voigt on Jan. 13, 2018. The junior leads the MAC in free throw shooting at 96 percent, which puts her fourth in the nation. She's also second in the MAC in assists at 4.8 per game and seventh in scoring at 20.0 points per game.
 
Drake enters Sunday's matchup with a 6-2 record and on a five-game winning streak. The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field and made 13 three-pointers Wednesday night in a 101-57 win over Division III Simpson at the Knapp Center. It was the fifth straight game Drake scored over 75 points. Junior forward Maggie Bair led Drake with 17 points against Simpson. Courtney Becker had a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Drake is 13th in the country in scoring offense, averaging 81.6 points per game.
 
NIU wraps up its four-game road swing on Thursday, Dec. 16 at DePaul before returning to the Convocation Center to take on Colorado State on Dec. 21. Huskie Flex Plans are now available for the 2021-22 men's and women's basketball seasons. Purchase vouchers for $6 each and use them throughout the season to attend Huskie men's and women's basketball home games. Simply redeem vouchers for tickets prior to the game. 
 
--NIU--