Women's Basketball | November 4

DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team goes on the road to open the 2022-23 season, taking on #9/10 Notre Dame Monday night at Purcell Pavilion.  Tip-off is at 6 p.m. CT with the game broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
 
The Huskies return 10 letterwinners from a year ago, including their top four scorers from a team that finished fourth in the Mid-American Conference. Three of those returnees were All-MAC selections in forward A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) and guards Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) and Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran).
 
Davis was named to the preseason All-MAC First Team last week. The senior led NIU with 16.6 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in 2022, setting NIU single-season records with 349 rebounds and 24 double-doubles. Her 24 double-doubles were the fourth-most in the nation and helped her earn First Team All-MAC honors. Davis has increased her scoring average by almost five points per game each season in DeKalb. As a freshman Davis averaged 5.8 points per game, then 11.0 points per game as a sophomore and 16.6 last year. She was named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Watchlist in the preseason.
 
Poisson and Koker were both Honorable Mention All-MAC selections last season. Koker was named to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team after averaging 17.8 points per game in 16 games a year ago. Last season she became the 33^rd Huskie to reach 1,000 career points, hitting that mark with a game-high 28 points in a win over Akron. Poisson led the MAC with 2.78 three-pointers per game in 2022, with 10 games of at least four threes made. She averaged a career-high 12.9 points per game a year ago and enters this season with 934 career points.
 
NIU was one of the top rebounding teams in the country last year. The Huskies were second in the MAC with 41.69 rebounds per game, putting them 25^th in the nation. NIU had a double-digit rebound margin in nine games last season and went 12-6 when outrebounding the opposition.
 
The Huskies made 15 three-pointers in their 88-61 exhibition victory over Loras on Oct. 29. NIU shot 60 percent from the field in the opening quarter, making 8-of-11 three-point attempts to build a 36-18 lead. The defense then took center stage in the second, holding the DuHawks to five points to go up 53-23 at halftime. Poisson led NIU with 17 points as Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) added 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals.
 
Monday night's game marks the first game for NIU against a ranked opponent since Dec. 31, 2011. The Huskies faced a #19 DePaul team in Chicago that New Year's Eve and fell 65-46. This is also NIU's first season opener on the road since 2017, a 93-64 win at Eastern Illinois.
 
Notre Dame enters the season ranked in the top 10 in both the Associate Press and ESPN Coaches Polls. The Fighting Irish were 24-9 last season, reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame won its exhibition game against Truman State 92-47 last Monday. Sonia Citron led the Fighting Irish with a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds.
 
The two teams last met on Dec. 30, 2004 when Notre Dame came to the NIU Convocation Center ranked fourth in the country and won 73-49. The Fighting Irish have a familiar face on their bench in NIU Hall of Famer Carol Owens, who serves as Notre Dame's Associate Head Coach. Owens played at NIU from 1985-90 and was a two-time All-American, leading the Huskies to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1990. She is NIU's all-time leading rebounder with 1,028 rebounds and third all-time leading scorer with 2,102 points.
 
NIU returns to the Convocation Center on Saturday, Nov. 12 to face DePaul at 1 p.m. 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.
 
--NIU--