Women's Basketball | January 3

DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team will open Mid-American Conference play on the road this Wednesday at McGuirk Arena against the Central Michigan Chippewas. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. with the game broadcast on ESPN+ and locally on WDKB 94-9 FM, the NIU Huskies app and the Varsity Network app.
 
NIU enters league play with an 8-3 record after an 85-72 loss at IUPUI on Dec. 21. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led the Huskies with 17 points and three steals. This is the fourth time in the last seven seasons the Huskies won eight games before MAC play. NIU leads the MAC with 8.9 three-pointers per game and are second in three-point field goal percentage at 35.0 percent. The Huskies are 6-1 this season when making at least seven threes in a game.
 
Koker has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games, averaging 16.7 points per game over that stretch. She is fifth in the league in assists at 3.8 per game and sixth in scoring at 15.4 points per game. In six career games against Central Michigan, Koker is averaging 16.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
 
Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook), the other half of NIU's starting backcourt, enters the league opener fourth in the MAC with a 2.57 assist/turnover ratio which puts her in the top-20 in the country. Over the last six games Marable has 21 assists to six turnovers. On Dec. 3 Marable had a career-high eight assists and no turnovers in the Huskies' win at Eastern Illinois.
 
NIU and Central Michigan have split the last four regular season meetings, with the home team winning each game. The Huskies closed the 2021-22 regular season with a 69-49 win over the Chippewas at the NIU Convocation Center. Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) led NIU with 18 points. Central Michigan is 2-9 on the year after an 80-62 win over Chicago State on New Year's Day. Freshman guard Sydney Harris led all scorers with 19 points. She leads Central Michigan with 16.3 points per game and is the MAC leader with 3.09 three-pointers per game.
 
The Huskies return home on Saturday, Jan. 7 to take on the Toledo Rockets. Tip-off at the NIU Convocation Center is at 1 p.m. For tickets to Saturday's game, as well as the rest of the 2022-23 season, log on to NIUHuskies.com or call the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225). General Admission tickets are $6 with reserved seats at $8.
 
--NIU--