DeKALB, IL – Led by a double-double from sophomore forward A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]), the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team won its fifth consecutive game with an 81-75 victory over the Buffalo Bulls Saturday at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
Davis tied a career high with 17 points, going 7-for-9 at the free throw line. She also led all players with a career-high 19 rebounds. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led all scorers with 20 points, adding five steals and three assists. Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) had 13 points off the bench.
 
"We knew today was going to be a big game, and I felt like it was two heavyweights going at it especially on the glass," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "There's some pretty big numbers as far as rebounding is concerned, but I think especially in the fourth quarter we were able to really stay in system and stay disciplined and that was the difference in the ballgame."
 
After being held to 30.8 percent shooting from the field in the first half and trailing 42-37, NIU's (11-6, 9-3 MAC) offense came alive in the third quarter. A Paulina Castro (Elgin, Ill./Harvest Christian) three started a 14-5 run for NIU to start the second half as the Huskies made six of their first seven shots from the field to take a 51-47 lead with 5:43 remaining in the third. NIU led 55-51 with under 90 seconds to go when the Bulls closed the quarter on a 6-2 run with a Dyaisha Fair steal and score with 0:04 left tying the game at 57 heading into the final period.  The Huskies shot 72.7 percent from the field, making 8-of-11 shots from the field in the third.
 
Buffalo (11-6, 8-4 MAC) and NIU traded baskets to start the fourth, playing to a 61-61 tie with 7:51 to go. The Huskies broke the tie with an Emily Meinert (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College) layup, starting a 7-3 NIU run capped by a Poisson triple that put the home team ahead 68-64 with 3:07 to go. The lead grew to five with 1:50 as a Koker three-pointer made the score 71-66. With the Bulls forced to foul late to conserve time, NIU put the game away at the free throw line. The Huskies made nine of 10 free throws in the final minute to win their ninth game out of the last 10.
 
NIU took an early 11-6 lead in the first quarter behind threes from Koker and Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais). Buffalo came back with a 13-2 run over 2:52, getting seven points from Fair to take a 19-13 lead with 1:07 left. Fair and Hanna Hall each made a three in the final minute of the first quarter to give Buffalo a 25-17 lead. The Huskies opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run, with five straight points from Davis, to get within two 27-25. NIU re-took the lead at the 5:14 mark when a pair of Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) free throws capped an 8-0 Huskies run that made the score 33-31. The Huskies led 37-36 when the Bulls scored the final six points of the quarter to take a 42-37 lead at halftime.
 
In a matchup of the Mid-American Conference's top two rebounding teams, it was NIU that outrebounded Buffalo 54-43. The Huskies shot 40.3 percent from the field and were 21-for-25 at the free throw line. NIU held Buffalo to 33.7 percent shooting and 9-for-35 from the three-point arc. Fair led Buffalo with 18 points, six assists and six steals.
 
NIU goes on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 17 to take on the Ohio Bobcats. Tip-off is at 5 p.m. with the game broadcast on ESPN+.
 
--NIU--