DeKALB, IL – Junior guard Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led all players with 28 points Monday night and eclipsed 1,000 career points as the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team defeated the Akron Zips 79-67 at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
"I'm just happy it came in a win," said Koker on reaching the 1,000-point milestone. "It just feels a lot better that we can celebrate the win along with it. My teammates and coaches put me in great positions to be successful. I'm so thankful that I'm here at NIU to have that happen."
 
Koker is the 33^rd player in NIU women's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. Her 28 points Monday night now put her at 1,023 for her career. She added six rebounds and a game-high six assists. Koker made a career-high 13 free throws and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the three-point line.
 
Akron (7-6, 4-3 MAC) used an 11-2 run early in the first quarter to take a 14-6 lead on a Reagan Bass layup at the 4:21 mark. Koker, who needed five points to reach 1,000, scored them in the next minute of action. Her three at the 3:24 mark put her at exactly at 1,000 points and came in the middle of an 11-2 run by the Huskies over 4:03 that gave NIU a 17-16 lead. The Zips took the lead on a Jordyn Dawson jumper in the final seconds of the quarter that made the score 18-17.
 
NIU (6-9, 3-4 MAC) took back the lead at the 6:18 mark of the second quarter when threes from Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) and Nia Ahart (Detroit, Mich./Colgate) highlighted a 7-0 Huskies run that put the home team up 26-21. The Zips cut NIU's lead to one with 4:24 to play in the half when a Layne Ferrell three-pointer made the score 30-29. That would be Akron's last field goal of the half. NIU closed the second quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 41-31 halftime advantage. Koker and Emily Meinert (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College) combined for all 11 points in that stretch.
 
The Zips shot 53.3 percent from the field in the third quarter and cut NIU's lead to two when Ferrell knocked down a three with 0:05 left to make the score 57-55. Sparked by five straight points by Koker, NIU opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 66-57 lead with 7:49 to play. The Zips got as close as four points when a pair of Dawson free throws made the score 69-65 with 3:00 to go. NIU then put together one last run to put away Akron. Sparked by a Poisson three, the Huskies went on a 10-0 run over 2:11 to go up 14, 79-65, with 0:26 left. Koker and Errin Hodges (Pontiac, Ill./Evansville Central [Ind.]) combined to go 7-for-8 at the free throw line in that run that sealed the victory.
 
"We knew it was going to be a 40-minute dogfight and I was really proud of how our players stayed composed," Carlsen said. "I thought we had the right people taking the right shots. We did a great job both on the glass and at the foul line."
 
NIU shot 44.6 percent from the field and made a season-high 22 free throws. The Huskies outrebounded Akron 44-29, powered by A'Jah Davis' (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) 11^th double-double of the season with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Dawson led Akron with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The Huskies are home on Wednesday, Jan. 26 to take on Kent State at 11 a.m. for Education Day. 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).
 
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