DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team heads to Eastern Michigan Wednesday night for a matchup against the Eagles. Tip-off at the George Gervin GameAbove Center is set for 5:30 p.m. CT, with the game telecast on ESPN+ with 94-9 WDKB, the NIU Huskies app and TuneIn carrying the game as well.
 
NIU (7-10, 1-5 MAC) has won five of the last seven meetings against Eastern Michigan. The two teams split last season's two games with the road team winning each. The Huskies won at Eastern Michigan 61-52 on Feb. 17, 2024 behind 18 points and six assists from Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie). Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall) added 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
 
The Huskies are back atop the Mid-American Conference in three-point field goal percentage at 35.1 percent. NIU was 7-for-18 from the three-point arc Saturday night at Bowling Green, the 10^th time this season the Huskies made at least six threes in a game. Lexi Carlsen (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) had three three-pointers at Bowling Green and scored 14 points. Carlsen has made multiple threes in five consecutive games and leads the MAC in three-point percentage at 42.9 percent.
 
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led all scorers Saturday night with 16 points at Bowling Green, going 7-for-14 from the field. She also had five rebounds, five assists, and a season-high four steals. It was the sixth time this season Koker had at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game. Over the last 10 games Koker is averaging 11.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.
 
Eastern Michigan (1-15, 0-6 MAC) is coming off a 73-64 loss at Central Michigan on Saturday. The Eagles shot over 45 percent from the field and made 11 three-pointers but could not overcome a 51-32 halftime deficit. Graduate guard Mackenzie Amalia led all scorers with 19 points as Olivia Westphal added 14. Amalia is second in the MAC in assists with 5.1 per game and leads the league in minutes at 38.29 per game. Junior forward Sisi Eleko is second in the MAC in both scoring at 18.8 points per game and rebounding at 10.4 per game.
 
NIU opens a two-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 25 with a 1 p.m. game against Ball State at the NIU Convocation Center. The game is the first of a doubleheader with the NIU men's basketball team, who also will take on Ball State at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets and the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225).
 
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