Women's Basketball | January 31

DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team starts a stretch of five of its next seven games on the road this Saturday when the Huskies head to Buffalo to take on the Bulls. Tip-off at Alumni Arena is at 1 p.m. CT.
 
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live audio on NIUHuskies.com.
 
NIU (9-11, 3-6 MAC) has won two of its last three games after Wednesday night's 80-75 victory over Central Michigan. The Huskies shot over 50 percent from the field and three-point line. NIU also forced 22 Chippewas turnovers, turning those into 20 points.
 
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led the Huskies in scoring for the fifth time in six games with 19 points, adding four rebounds and eight assists. Koker leads NIU in scoring at 12.8 points per game, averaging 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. She is one of two players in the Mid-American Conference, along with Ball State's Ally Becki, to average 10 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.
 
NIU has had at least 20 assists in each of the last two games. On Wednesday night NIU had 21 assists while tying a season-low with 11 turnovers. Koker and Lexi Carlsen (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) combined for 14 assists with Carlsen's six a season-high. It was the fourth time this year NIU had at least 20 assists.
 
The Huskies lead the MAC in three-point field goal percentage at 36.1 percent, which puts NIU 24^th in the nation from long range. NIU has made 33 three-pointers over the last four games, shooting 40.7 percent from the arc. The Huskies will face the top three-point field goal percentage defense in the MAC on Saturday as Buffalo holds opponents to 25.8 percent from long range.
 
Buffalo (18-2, 7-2 MAC) won its fifth consecutive game on Wednesday, allowing a season-low 40 points in a 73-40 win at Western Michigan. The Bulls held the Broncos to 27.8 percent from the field and 4-for-24 from the three-point line. Chellia Watson led Buffalo with 22 points. She leads the MAC in scoring at 19.5 points per game.
 
NIU leads the all-time series against Buffalo 21-11. The Huskies have won seven of the last 10 meetings against the Bulls. The two teams split last season's two games with the road team winning each. NIU won at Alumni Arena 66-57 on Feb. 21, 2024 behind 15 points and 13 rebounds from Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) and 10 points from Brooke Blumenfeld (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North).
 
The Huskies return to the NIU Convocation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 5 to take on Kent State at 6 p.m. for National Girls & Women in Sports Day. NIU Athletics will host a pregame Youth Sports Clinic as well as a Panel Discussion. For more information on both events, click on the following link.
 
--NIU--