Women's Basketball | February 21

DeKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team had four student-athletes named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, as announced by the organization on Tuesday. A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]), Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran), Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) and Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall) earned the recognition.
 
Davis, a kinesiology major with a 3.639 grade point average, is the nation's fourth-leading rebounder at 12.6 per game. She is also fifth in the country with 18 double-doubles. The senior forward is one double-double away from tying Tammy Hinchee's (1986-90) NIU career record of 50. Davis has had at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in each of the last five games. Davis was named the Mid-American Conference Female Scholar Athlete of the Week on Nov. 30 and is a two-time Academic All-MAC selection.
 
Koker, a health science-pre-physical therapy major with a 3.974 grade point average, has twice been named MAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Week this season. The senior guard leads NIU in scoring, assists, steals, three-point percentage and free throw percentage. Koker has had nine 20-point scoring efforts this season including a game-high 25 points in NIU's win over Ball State last Saturday. She has twice been an Academic All-MAC honoree.
 
Marable, a business administration major with a 3.571 GPA, was an Academic All-MAC selection last season. She is third in the MAC with a 2.50 assist/turnover ratio which puts her among the top-25 in the nation. In the last eight games Marable has 26 assists with just seven turnovers. She scored a season-high 11 points in back-to-back games against Notre Dame and DePaul to start the season.
 
Nickel, a health sciences major with a 3.981 grade point average, has started all 25 games in her sophomore season. She scored a season-high 11 points in the Huskies' win at Detroit Mercy on Nov. 22. Last Saturday Nickel led NIU with six assists in the 84-77 win over Ball State.
 
"Achievement in the classroom is a big part of the culture that we cultivate within our program, to go along with being successful on the basketball court," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "Chelby, A'Jah, Jayden and Laura have been instrumental in our success this season, and it's great to see them be recognized for their academic excellence as well."
 
A student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 GPA and have played in 50 percent of the contests for the season to be eligible for Academic All-District honors. Each school can have a maximum of four Academic All-District honorees who are then eligible to be voted onto an Academic All-America Team.
NIU is on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 22 to take on the Miami RedHawks. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. CT.
 
--NIU--