Women's Basketball | October 28

DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team will get its first game action of the season on Wednesday night when it hosts the Benedictine Eagles at the NIU Convocation Center. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
 
Wednesday's game will be the first on the bench for first-year head coach Jacey Brooks, who took over the helm of the NIU women's basketball program on April 1. Brooks came to DeKalb after two successful seasons as the associate head coach at Buffalo, culminating in a postseason WNIT championship last season. As the head coach at SUNY Cortland from 2018-23, Brooks posted a 79-32 record with two SUNYAC titles and three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.
 
"It's hard to believe I was introduced six months ago and now the season is right around the corner," said Brooks at NIU's winter sports media day on Oct. 24. "We officially started practice five weeks and I think the team has shown great progression in those five weeks. When you look at the roster there is not a ton of Division I playing experience, but I love its versatility. We have some post players who can shoot the three and score in the paint and we have guards that can push tempo and score at the basket."
 
The Huskies return six letterwinners from a season ago including the top returning scorer in senior guard Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO). Doyle started all 30 games last year and averaged 11.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. She led the team in minutes at 31.5 per game. Senior Maria Serracanta (Sabadell, Spain/Mercer) played in 22 games off the bench in 2024 and had a 1.4 assist-turnover ratio.
 
NIU has five transfers on this year's team, four of which have previous Division I experience. Graduate transfer guard Nadechka Laccen (San Juan, Puerto Rico/St. Bonaventure) played at St. Bonaventure for three seasons, averaging over eight points per game. Nevaeh Wingate (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John's) comes to DeKalb after two seasons at St. John's.
 
"[Keka] Laccen will have the basketball in her hands a lot," Brooks said. "She sets the tone for us defensively whether its pressuring the ball or reading passing lanes. I coached Nevaeh in AAU and that's how we developed that relationship. She's done a good job in the paint and has the athleticism to guard both post players and guards. Nevaeh can score in multiple dimensions."
 
Benedictine was 15-12 in the 2024-25 season with a 10-6 record in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. The Eagles reached the semifinals of the conference tournament, falling to top-seeded St. Norbert. Senior guard Makenzie Carroll is Benedictine's top returning scorer and rebounder after averaging 9.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season.
 
The Huskies open the regular season on Monday, Nov. 3 at Southern Miss in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. The home opener is on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. against Milwaukee. Season Tickets for the 2025-26 season start at $35 for general admission and $50 in reserved sections. Courtside seats and Nelson Suite access is also available. For more information, contact the NIU Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225) weekdays between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or via email at huskiestickets@niu.edu.
 
--NIU--