DeKALB, IL – Guards Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO) and Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) both scored over 20 points Wednesday night as the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team earned a 73-69 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes on National Girls and Women In Sports Day at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
"For 37-and-a-half minutes that is some of the best basketball we have played," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "That was an interesting game to say the least, but that is a very good team that we just beat. I am very proud of everyone who stepped on the floor."
 
Doyle led all scorers with a season-high 23 points, adding two rebounds and three assists. The junior was 8-for-3 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the three-point arc. Koker had 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field with three three-pointers. She also had a game-high four steals.
 
"We had good ball movement all night and were selfless with the ball," Koker said. "Sometimes we haven't shot the ball well but we've maintained that confidence in ourselves and each other."
 
NIU (10-12, 4-7 MAC) and Kent State traded baskets to start the game, but a Koker layup sparked a 7-0 Huskies run that put NIU ahead 11-5 at the 5:32 mark of the first. The Golden Flashes scored the next four points, all from Dionna Gray, to get within two with 4:39 left in the quarter. NIU held Kent State without a field goal for the remainder of the first, going on a 10-2 run highlighted by back-to-back threes from Doyle and Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) to take a 21-11 lead. NIU shot 60 percent from the field in the first and held Kent State to 22.2 percent.
 
Kent State (15-8, 8-3 MAC) held the Huskies without a field goal for the first 5:09 of the second quarter, closing the gap to five 23-18. A Koker layup at the 3:59 mark sparked a 12-0 Huskies run over 2:37 to give NIU a 35-18 lead. Doyle and McCrea made back-to-back three-pointers to cap the run as NIU was 5-for-8 from long range in the first half, taking a 35-20 lead into halftime.
 
The Huskies were 5-for-8 from the three-point line in the third quarter alone and shot 50 percent from the field. Koker scored 10 points in the third, including the last five, to put NIU in the drivers seat up 58-41 going into the fourth. The Golden Flashes scored the first six points of the final quarter to get within 11, 58-47. A Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall) putback kickstarted a 12-1 Huskies' run that gave NIU its largest lead of the game at 22 points, 70-48, with 4:58 to play. Koker scored the last six points of that stretch.
 
Kent State made one last furious rally to get back in the game. The Golden Flashes went on a 16-1 run with three Mya Babbitt threes to get within seven, 71-64, with 1:17 to play. After Doyle split two free throws to make the score 72-64 with 1:06 left, Babbitt made a layup followed by a Journey Hildebrand three that got Kent State within three 72-69 with 0:38 to go. Lexi Carlsen (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) drew a foul on NIU's next possession to get to the free throw line with 0:23 left. She made one of two free throws to put NIU up four, 73-69, and put the game away.
 
"I was most proud of us on the defensive end, besides the last few minutes when they [Kent State] caught fire," Carlsen said. "We did a great job of staying locked in defensively. Kent State averages 76 points per game and we kept them in check."
 
NIU shot 49.1 percent from the field, holding Kent State to 42.1 percent. The Huskies shot a season-high 61.1 percent from the three-point arc making 11 of 18 attempts. Doyle and McCrea were a combined 8-for-10 from long range. Babbitt was 5-for-7 from the three-point line in leading Kent State with 17 points. Jenna Batsch added 15 points.
 
The Huskies open a three-game road trip on Saturday, Feb. 8 at Appalachian State in the second game of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tip-off is at 1 p.m. CT.
 
--NIU--