DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team had three student-athletes earn postseason honors from the Mid-American Conference on Tuesday as the league announced its postseason awards. This is the first time in program history NIU had three All-MAC selections.
Junior forward
A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) was named to the All-MAC First Team for her first career All-MAC honor. Davis averaged a double-double in the regular season with 16.5 points and a league-leading 12.1 rebounds per game. She set two NIU single-season records this season with 338 rebounds and 23 double-doubles this season. Davis has had a double-double in each of the last 12 games. She was named MAC Player of the Week on Dec. 21 after scoring 26 points with 13 rebounds at DePaul.
"A'Jah is the dominant post player in the league," said head coach
Lisa Carlsen. "Her growth since last season has been huge and I can't wait to see that continue. Her ability to rebound the basketball is game-changing for us and she takes a great deal of pride in that. She has continued to work at her craft and that work ethic will continue as she has a great desire to continue to grow and develop as a dominant player, not just in our league but nationally as well."
Guards
Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) and
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) were selected to the All-MAC Honorable Mention Team. Poisson led the conference in the regular season with 2.75 three-pointers per game, making 77 in 28 games. The redshirt-senior made at least four threes in a game 10 times this season. On Feb. 12 Poisson scored a season-high 26 points in NIU's overtime victory over Buffalo. This is her third career postseason league honor. Poisson was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team in 2017 and was last season's MAC Sixth Player of the Year.
This is Koker's second All-MAC selection after being named to the All-MAC Second Team in 2021. Koker started all 16 games she played this season before suffering a season-ending injury on Jan. 26. She averaged 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game with three double-doubles. Koker had 29 points and a career-high 11 assists against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 4. She had 28 points in the Huskies' 79-67 win over Akron on Jan. 24.
"Janae has come so far back from significant injuries, I couldn't be prouder of her," Carlsen said. "I love her fire, her passion and competitiveness. Chelby was well on her way to being recognized as one of the elite guards in the MAC. This recognition shows how much respect the league's coaches have for her. I can't wait to get her back on the court next season."
NIU enters the 2022 MAC Championship as the number four seed and will take on Ball State in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 9 at approximately 12:30 p.m. CT at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Tickets to the MAC Championship can be purchased at the following
link.
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