Women’s basketball season comes to close after loss to Chippewas
First-year guard Chelby Koker drives past a Golden Flash defender Wednesday during NIU’s 79-71 loss to Kent State University at the Convocation Center.
March 11, 2021
DeKALB — The women’s basketball team ended its season Wednesday after a 83-69 loss to the Central Michigan University Chippewas. NIU finishes the season with an overall record of 12-12 and 10-9 in the Mid-American Conference.
The Huskies had a hard time containing CMU’s drive and kick offense, as the Chippewas made 41.9% of their 3-pointers. CMU Senior guard Maddy Watters and redshirt junior guard Kalle Martinez made the majority of those attempts as they combined for six 3-pointers.
The Chippewas’ leading scorer was sophomore guard Molly Davis with 24 points, four rebounds and three steals. CMU also received contributions from senior guard Micaela Kelly and Watters.
Kelly scored 23 points with four rebounds and two steals, while Watters scored 12 points and three steals.
NIU’s top performer was sophomore guard Chelby Koker with 22 points, three steals and three rebounds. The Huskies also received contributions from redshirt junior guard Janae Poisson and sophomore forward A’Jah Davis.
A’Jah Davis recorded a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds in her 36 plus minutes of play. Poisson scored 14 points with three rebounds and knocked down two 3-pointers.
The Chippewas started off the game on an 11-4 scoring run after converting three 3-pointers through the first three minutes of the game. NIU cut the deficit to 13-9 after a 9-0 scoring run finished off by a free-throw from Koker.
CMU went on to take a 16-14 lead into the second quarter led by Kelly with five points and two assists. NIU’s top performers were Poisson and A’Jah Davis with six points each.
NIU took a 21-19 lead early in the second quarter after a layup by Poisson with a little over seven minutes left in the quarter. From there the game stayed close as it was tied two times over the next three-plus minutes.
CMU took a 29-26 lead after a 3-pointer by Watters with little under three minutes left in the quarter. The Chippewas took over from there and out-scored NIU 8-0 over the next minute to take a 37-26 lead.
The Chippewas had a 37-28 lead into halftime led by Molly Davis with eight points and three assists. NIU’s top performer was A’Jah Davis with seven points and four rebounds.
A layup by Kelly extended CMU’s lead to 41-28 with a little over nine minutes left in the quarter. NIU cut the deficit down to 43-35 after a layup by A’Jah Davis with a little over six minutes left in the quarter.
CMU did not falter though and extended its lead to 53-42 after a 3-pointer by redshirt guard Anika Weeks with a little over a minute in the quarter.
The Chippewas had a 55-42 lead after the third quarter led by Kelly with eight points and two assists. NIU’s top performer was A’Jah Davis with four points and three rebounds
A 3-point play by Watters extended the Chippewas lead to 60-44 early in the fourth quarter with a little under nine minutes remaining. NIU cut the deficit down to 65-57 after a layup by A’Jah Davis with a little under five minutes left in the quarter.
The late push by NIU was not enough as CMU outscored the Huskies 18-12 throughout the remainder of the quarter to secure the win.
The Chippewas were led by Molly Davis with 12 points, who made 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter. NIU’s top performer was Chelby Koker with 15 points and two rebounds in the final quarter of play.
