DeKalb Times

Northern Illinois University issued the following announcement on Jan. 1

The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team got off to a fast start Saturday afternoon against the Central Michigan Chippewas at McGuirk Arena, but the hosts rallied in the fourth quarter for a 72-68 win in the Huskies' Mid-American Conference opener.

Juniors A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) and Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) both had double-doubles for the Huskies. Davis led NIU with 23 points and a season-high 17 rebounds. Eleven of Davis' 17 rebounds came on the offensive end. Koker had 16 points and 12 rebounds, one shy of tying her career-high of 13. It was the second time this season NIU had two players with a double-double in the same game.

"A'Jah and Chelby make such a difference on this team," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "We just need to get a couple other people going again. It was great to be back on the floor, but at the end of the day you have to play a full 40 minutes of basketball."

NIU (3-6, 0-1 MAC) led 54-50 heading into the fourth quarter. Central Michigan made four straight threes to open the final period, with back-to-back Tiana Tempe triples giving the Chippewas a 62-54 lead with 7:02 to go. The Chippewas led by nine with under four minutes to go when NIU went on a 7-0 run capped by a Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) three to get the Huskies within two, 67-65, with 1:23 left in the ballgame.

The Huskies had the ball with a chance to tie with 0:48 left but turned it over, leading to two Molly Davis free throws that put Central Michigan up by four, 69-65. Koker then made a layup on NIU's next possession to once again make it a two-point game, 69-67, with 27 seconds to go. NIU then put on the full court press and forced a turnover to get the ball back with 26 seconds left. The Huskies got the ball down to Davis who was fouled on a layup try with six seconds left. Davis split the two free throws to make it a one-point game, 69-68. NIU fouled Molly Davis again, and again Davis made her two foul shots to put the score at 71-68. The Huskies had one last chance to tie the game, but turned the ball over with 4.8 seconds left.

"Central made some big shots in the second half, especially from the three-point line," Carlsen said. "We didn't rebound as well and that let them back in the game. They got more aggressive as the game went on and we were a little bit hesitant. You have to stay consistent every game in the league could be like this."

NIU opened the game on a 7-2 run, getting a pair of Davis layups and a three from Poisson. The lead grew to 11 at the 4:26 mark when an Emily Meinert (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College) layup capped an 8-0 run over 2:36 that put the Huskies up 15-4. After a Tempe triple got the Chippewas within eight, NIU ran off another eight straight points. A Koker three and five straight points from Davis put NIU ahead 23-7 with 1:34 to play in the first, the Huskies' largest lead of the game. Central Michigan scored the final five points of the quarter to make the score 23-12.

The Huskies opened the second quarter on a 6-2 run, as a Meinert layup and two Koker baskets made the score 29-14 at the 6:49 mark. Central Michigan's Molly Davis then scored the next eight points of the game to get the Chippewas within seven, 29-22, with 5:06 to go until halftime. The Huskies ended Davis' scoring burst with a Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) three-pointer and a basket by Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall HS) to go back up 12, 34-22 with 4:11 left until halftime. NIU took a 38-27 lead into halftime after a pair of Meinert free throws in the final seconds.

Central Michigan (3-8, 1-1 MAC) shot 38.5 percent from the field to NIU's 37.8 percent. The Chippewas made 14 three-pointers while the Huskies had seven. NIU outrebounded Central Michigan 51-40 and turned 20 offensive rebounds into 24 second chance points. Molly Davis led all scorers with 32 points as Timpe added 20.

NIU returns to the Convocation Center to host Ball State on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. Tickets are on sale at NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225). Huskie Flex Plans are now available for the 2021-22 men's and women's basketball seasons.  Purchase vouchers for $6 each and use them throughout the season to attend Huskie men's and women's basketball home games. Simply redeem vouchers for tickets prior to the game. 

Original source can be found here.