DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team takes the longest current winning streak in the Mid-American Conference Monday afternoon when the Huskies travel to Ball State. Tip-off against the Cardinals is set for 1 p.m. with the game broadcast on ESPN3.
 
NIU (9-6, 7-3 MAC) won its third straight game, and seventh out of eight, last Wednesday night in a 79-78 win over Bowling Green at the NIU Convocation Center. The Huskies came back from a 20-point deficit in the second half for the win, the first time NIU rallied from a 20-point deficit since March 8, 2017 against Ohio in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals.
 
The Huskies lead the MAC in three-point field goal percentage at 38.7 percent, which puts them 11^th in the country. NIU shot 50 percent from the three-point arc in the second half of last Wednesday's win over Bowling Green. The Huskies are ninth in the country in three-pointers per game at 9.7. Redshirt-Junior guard Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) made three three-pointers in the second half of the win over Bowling Green, scoring 14 points off the bench. Poisson leads the MAC in three-point field goal percentage at 47.9 percent. She is 12-for-20 from the three-point line over the last six games.
 
Sophomore guard Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led NIU in scoring for the fifth straight game last Wednesday with 15 points, all in the second half. Koker leads the conference in free throw percentage at 92.6 percent which puts her seventh in the nation. She has made 33 of her last 36 free throw attempts. Koker is fifth in the MAC in scoring, averaging 20.2 points per game.
 
Ball State (9-6, 7-4 MAC) had a five-game winning streak snapped Saturday afternoon in an 89-84 loss to Akron at Worthen Arena, moving the Cardinals to 7-4 in conference play. Senior forward Oshlynn Brown led Ball State with 29 points and 19 rebounds as Sydney Freeman had 17 points and seven assists. Brown leads the Cardinals in scoring and rebounding at 18.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Ball State is third in the MAC in field goal percentage at 42.4 percent, right behind NIU which is second at 43.1 percent. The Cardinals lead the all-time series against NIU 38-21 with the two teams splitting the regular season series each of the last two seasons.
 
Following Monday's game, NIU is back at the NIU Convocation Center on Saturday, Feb. 13 to take on Buffalo at 1 p.m. Although fans are unable to attend NIU basketball games this season, you can still make your presence felt in the NIU Convocation Center by purchasing a cutout as part of the "Huskie Howl" presented by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO).
 
For just $60, fans can put their image on a cutout that will remain in place in the NIU Convocation Center for all NIU men's and women's basketball games during the 2020-21 season. Net proceeds from all fan cutouts will benefit the Huskie Athletic Fund. Click here to order your cutout.
 
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