DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team had two student-athletes earn postseason honors from the Mid-American Conference on Tuesday. Redshirt-Junior guard Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) was named the Sixth Player of the Year and sophomore guard Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) was named to the All-MAC Second Team.
 
After missing a majority of the last three seasons due to injury, Poisson has played in every game this season and leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 46.5 percent. She is fifth in the MAC with 2.3 three-pointers per game. Poisson is sixth in the nation in three-point percentage. She has scored in double figures 11 times off the bench this season, including a season-high 20 points against Western Illinois on Dec. 5 and Ball State on Feb. 24.  Poisson is the second Huskie to win MAC Sixth Player of the Year. Marke Freeman earned the honor in 2009.
 
"Janae is exactly what you want from your first player off the bench," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "Not only does she have a strong skillset, but she's a high energy player. She's instant offense when she comes on the floor and she's our most vocal player on the bench. I'm really proud of her for excelling in her role this year and she's been a huge part of our success."
 
Koker leads NIU this season in scoring at 21.0 points per game and assists with 3.8 per game. She leads the MAC in free throw percentage at 88.9 percent which puts her 14^th in the country. Koker is fifth in the conference in scoring and among the top-10 in three-pointers per game, assists and field goal percentage. The sophomore has scored in double figures in all 23 games so far this year, leading NIU in scoring 19 times. Koker has scored at least 20 points in a game 13 times this season and scored a career-high 34 points in NIU's win at Ball State on Feb. 8.
 
"Chelby has worked extremely hard this year to elevate her game," Carlsen said. "After her freshman year, she had a great understanding as to what it takes to be an elite guard in this league. She not only is a great scorer, but she leads us in many statistical categories and is a great leader on the floor. I can't wait to see where her career takes her and where she takes us as she continues to get better and better."
 
NIU takes on Central Michigan in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Wednesday, March 10 at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and will also be available locally on WLBK 98.9 FM/1360 AM and the NIU Huskies App.
 
--NIU--