MACOMB, IL - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball cut an 18-point third quarter deficit down to three with 3:07 left to play Saturday afternoon against the Eastern Illinois Panthers, but could not tie the game in an 87-81 loss in the Compass Challenge.
Junior guard Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led all players with 29 points and a career-high 11 assists for her second career double-double. Eight of her assists came in the second half with six in the fourth quarter alone. She also tied a career-high with six steals. She is the first Huskie to have a double-double of points and assists since Mikayla Voigt had 15 points and 10 assists at Toledo on Jan. 13, 2018.
"Chelby was really good today, especially in the second half," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "She let the game come to her and did a good job of penetrating and getting the ball to open shooters. We've said along that we need the ball in Chelby's hands and trust her to make the right decisions and she did that."
Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) tied a career-high with five made three-pointers as she scored 17 points. Freshman forward Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall HS) made her first career start Saturday afternoon and scored 12 points with six rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes.
Eastern Illinois (5-4) led for much of the game and took its largest lead with 3:49 remaining in the third quarter when a Julia Bengtson layup made the score 55-37. NIU then went on a 9-2 run over the next 1:29 as threes from Koker, Poisson and Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) cut the deficit to 11 at 57-46. The Huskies closed the deficit to 10 on another Koker three late in the quarter to make the score 59-49 heading into the fourth.
Trailing 66-55 with 6:53 left, NIU (3-3) went on a 7-2 run sparked by a pair of Nickel free throws to get within six at 68-62 with 5:25 to play. Poisson's third three-pointer of the fourth quarter got NIU within three, 72-69, with just over three minutes to play in the game. That would be as close as NIU would get. The Huskies got within three points four other times in the final 2:11, including on a Koker three-point play with 0:53 left, but never got the chance to tie the game. Eastern Illinois was a perfect 12-for-12 at the free throw line in the final quarter to come away with the 87-81 win.
The Panthers used an 11-3 run in the first quarter to take a 15-7 lead at the 3:50 mark. NIU cut the lead to four, 17-13, on a Koker fast break layup with under three minutes to play. Eastern Illinois shot over 60 percent from the field in the opening quarter to take a 25-18 lead. The Panthers outscored the Huskies by seven points again in the second to take a 46-32 halftime lead.
NIU shot 42.4 percent from the field in the game and made 11 three-pointers. Eastern Illinois shot 50.8 percent from the floor and was 15-for-15 at the free throw line. Kira Arthofer led the Panthers with 20 points and eight assists.
The Huskies continue their current four-game road swing on Sunday, December 12 with a 2 p.m. game at Drake.
Huskie Flex Plans are now available for the 2021-22 basketball season. 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 at the box office prior to the game. Tickets can be purchased online at NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
—NIU—
