DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University closes the regular season on Saturday when it travels to Central Michigan for a 12 p.m. showdown with the Chippewas. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3, as well as locally on WLBK 98.9 FM/1360 AM and the NIU Huskies app.
 
The Huskies are currently in sixth place in the Mid-American Conference going into the final day of the regular season. NIU could move into the three-seed for the upcoming MAC Tournament in Cleveland with a win and losses by Kent State, Ohio and Buffalo who are fifth, fourth, and third respectively.
 
NIU (12-10, 10-7 MAC) snapped a four-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 75-66 win over Eastern Michigan at the NIU Convocation Center. Sophomores A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) and Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led all scorers with 21 points each. Davis' 21 points were a career-high as she also led all players with 10 rebounds. Over the last six games, Davis has averaged 13.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while shooting 77.8 percent at the free throw line.
 
The Huskies also got a scoring lift in the win over the Eagles from redshirt-senior guard Paulina Castro (Elgin, Ill./Harvest Christian), who tied career-highs with five three-pointers and 15 points off the bench. She is the seventh Huskie to score in double figures off the bench this season. She previously had 15 points this year in NIU's 78-71 win at Bowling Green on Jan. 9. Castro is shooting 46.2 percent from the three-point line over her last 10 games.
 
Central Michigan (14-8, 12-6 MAC) are in second place in the MAC following an 87-81 win in double overtime at Ball State on Wednesday. Micaela Kelly led the Chippewas with 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. She is third in the MAC in scoring, averaging 23.3 points per game. Central Michigan is second in the MAC in scoring at 76.9 points per game and lead the league in field goal percentage, free throw percentage and three-pointers per game at 9.7 per game. The Huskies are second in the MAC in three-pointers per game at 9.0.
 
The Chippewas lead the all-time series with NIU 37-23. NIU won the first meeting between the two teams 104-73 on Jan. 13 in DeKalb. Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) led six Huskies in double figure scoring with a career-high 18 points. NIU made 15 three-pointers in the victory and shot a season-high 58 percent from the field.
 
Following Saturday's game, NIU heads to Cleveland for the MAC Tournament at Rocket Mortage FieldHouse. The women's basketball quarterfinals begin on Wednesday, March 10.
 
--NIU--