Year 1 of Jacey Brooks’ tenure as the NIU women’s basketball coach has been nothing short of underwhelming when compared to the Huskies’ recent seasons.
Currently sitting at four wins on the season, the Huskies (4-17, 2-8 MAC) have had their fair share of struggles in their final season in the Mid-American Conference.
INCONSISTENT SHOOTING, LOW OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
This season, the Huskies rank in the bottom half of the MAC in three-point percentage, field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage.
Furthermore, NIU ranks third-worst in the MAC in field goal and free-throw percentage, ranking ahead of only Western Michigan and Buffalo in both categories.
The Huskies rank eighth in three-point percentage despite shooting under 29% from beyond the arc this season.
Among players on NIU’s roster to have attempted at least 37 threes this season, only freshman guard Emilie Sorensen is shooting above 30%. Sorensen ranks fourth in the MAC in three-point percentage at 40.9%.
Due to the Huskies’ poor shooting performance so far this season, NIU ranks last in the MAC in points per game, averaging just 55.5.
The Huskies have had six games so far this season where they have failed to score more than 50 points, with their season low being 43 points against Miami on Jan. 28.
In the Huskies’ loss to Miami, NIU not only put up its fewest points in a game this season, but also made just four field goals in the second half.
NIU also finished the game with more made free throws, 16, than made field goals, 13.
The Huskies also rank last in the conference in assists with 214this season, averaging 10.19 per game.
TURNOVERS AND SECOND CHANCE OPPORTUNITIES
The mark of a good basketball team is its ability to limit turnovers and create second-chance opportunities on the offensive glass. The Huskies do neither of these well.
NIU is tied for the fifth most turnovers in the conference with Central Michigan with 371.
NIU also has the second-worst turnover margin in the MAC at negative three with Buffalo being the worst.
There are four players on NIU’s roster who average at least two turnovers per game through the Huskies’ first 21 games of the season.
The Huskies’ rebounding numbers have been nothing short of bad this season, ranking 12th in the conference in total rebounds and last in rebounds per game.
The team also ranks 12th in the MAC in total offensive rebounds with 181 and last in offensive rebounds per game with 8.6.
This problem loomed large in NIU’s latest matchup against Central Michigan, where the Huskies were outrebounded 42-17 in a five-point loss. Central Michigan also finished the game with more offensive rebounds, 20, than the Huskies had total rebounds.
ITS ONLY YEAR ONE OF JACEY BROOKS
Brooks is in just her first season as head coach, so growing pains are expected before success begins.
Brooks followed up longtime Huskies women’s basketball head coach Lisa Carlsen who was a model of consistency during her time in DeKalb.
Brooks also inherited a roster missing several key pieces from last season due to graduation, such as former forward Brooke Stonebraker, former guard Sidney McCrea, former guard Laura Nickel and longtime superstar Huskie guard Chelby Koker.
The incoming class of transfers and freshmen have shown signs of success, with Sorensen being one of a few bright spots in just her first season of collegiate hoops.
In replacement, junior forward Navaeh Wingate and graduate student guard Nadechka Laccen were two transfers brought in by Brooks in her first season. Now, the two are the team’s leading scorers.
The Huskies have also started to play some of their best basketball as of late, with the team’s shooting numbers increasing by over 3% since the start of conference play.
NIU is also coming off its highest-scoring game of the season against Central Michigan, in which the team shot over 50% from the field and from three.
While there are a lot of areas the Huskies need to improve in, NIU has made progress throughout this season. If these areas can continue to be tightened up, NIU has many of the pieces it needs to be successful.
UP NEXT
The Huskies’ next game will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center to take on Texas State University. The game will be steamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be updated on SIDEARM Sports.
