Women's Basketball | October 28

DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team will take the floor at the NIU Convocation Center Saturday to face the Loras DuHawks in an exhibition game. Tip-off is at 1 p.m.
 
The Huskies return 10 letterwinners from last season's squad that finished fourth in the Mid-American Conference, NIU's best league finish in five years. Three All-Conference players are back in senior forward A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]), senior guard Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) and graduate guard Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic).
 
Davis was named to the preseason All-MAC First Team on Thursday with Koker selected to the Second Team. Davis set NIU single-season records last season with 349 rebounds and 24 double-doubles, third-most in the country. She led NIU with 16.6 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. The senior has also been named to the watchlist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year. Koker was an All-MAC selection for the second straight season in 2022, earning Honorable Mention accolades. She averaged 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game last season and was named to the preseason All-MAC Second Team.
 
"I think this is as talented and as deep a group as I've had since I've been here" said head coach Lisa Carlsen at Thursday's NIU Winter Sports Media Day. "That definitely puts us in an optimistic mindset. [Associate Head Coach] Adam Tandez has done a great job from a recruiting standpoint, of not just putting talented players in our program but the right players with the right fit."  
 
NIU welcomes five new faces for the 2022-23 season, four of which are upperclassmen. Emma Carter (Bristol, Vt./Franklin Pierce) comes to DeKalb as a graduate transfer after four years at Franklin Pierce. She averaged over 17 points per game as a senior and earned Northeast-10 All-Conference second team honors. Junior forward Tara Stauffacher (Columbus, Wis./Wisconsin) played three seasons at Wisconsin before joining the Huskies. Stauffacher was ranked the number one player in Wisconsin coming out of Beaver Dam High School in 2019 and played in 83 games for the Badgers.
 
The Huskies also added guards Kortney Drake (Wilton, Iowa/Kirkwood CC) and Tatiana Hodges-Johnson (Des Moines, Iowa/Kirkwood CC), who led Kirkwood Community College to a 36-1 record last season and the NJCAA Division II national championship.
 
"We thought it was important to stay veteran in the recruiting process," Carlsen said. "We thought it was really important to stay veteran and surround those players with others who have had success playing at a high level."
 
The Huskies were 10-3 on the home floor in the 2021-22 season, averaging over 70 points per game and winning by an average of almost eight points per game.
 
Single-game and season tickets are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com. Season ticket pricing begins at just $35 for general admission seating and $50 for reserved seats. NIU faculty and staff, members of the NIU Alumni Association or Varsity Club and senior citizens can purchase women's basketball season tickets for $40.

Premium courtside seats are available for this season for both men's and women's basketball, putting fans close to the action for an unmatched game experience. Courtside seats to women's basketball are $200 each which includes the cost of a season ticket plus a $150 per seat license.  For more information on season tickets and courtside seats, call the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
 
--NIU--