Iowa Women's Basketball Tip Time Preview: Northern Illinois

NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES (1-0) AT IOWA HAWKEYES (0-0)

TIME: 6:30pm CT

TV: BTN+ – AJ Reisetter and Hayden Hoxmeier

SERIES: 13th Meeting – Iowa leads the series 7-5, last loss 1993

THE NUMBERS (2023-24)

OFFENSE: IOWA: 91.0 PPG, 49.6% FG, 37.6% 3PT, 13.8 TO NIU: 64.4 PPG, 39.7% FG, 30.9% 3PT, 15.6 TO

DEFENSE: IOWA: 71.9 PPG, 40.0% FG, 30.7% 3PT, 14.4 TO, +6.2 REB MARGIN NIU: 65.6 PPG, 38.9% FG, 29.6% 3PT, 12.5 TO, +2.5 REB MARGIN

IOWA HAWKEYES PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Lucy Olsen	Point Guard	5-10/ Sr.	Averaged 23.3 PPG, 4.8 REB and 3.8 AST at Villanova last season. Scored 25+ points 14 times. 14 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast vs Missouri Western
Taylor McCabe	Guard	5-9/ Jr.	Averaged 3.3 PPG and 8.2 MIN last season. Shot 46.1% from three-point range, including nine games with multiple made threes. 8 pts, 7 reb vs Missouri Western
Kylie Feuerbach	Guard	6-0/ rSr.	Averaged 3.4 PPG and 14.5 MIN last season. Shot 42.4% from the floor. 14 pts, 7 reb vs Missouri Western
Hannah Stuelke	Forward	6-2/ Jr.	Averaged 14.0 PPG and 6.6 REB last season. Ranked fifth in the country in shooting percentage (62.7%). Scored 15+ points in 15 games. 18 pts, 5 reb vs Missouri Western
Addi O’Grady	Center	6-4/ Sr.	Averaged 3.9 PPG and 1.9 REB last season. Season-high 14 pts, 5 reb in NCAA 1st Rnd vs Holy Cross. 8 pts, 2 reb vs Missouri Western

NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Chelby Koker	Guard	5-6/ Grad Sr.	Averaged 15.4 PPG, 3.9 REB, 3.4 AST during the 2022-23 season. Missed last season due to injury. 77 career games in double figures scoring. 18 pts, 9 reb, 9 ast vs Louisiana
Alecia Doyle	Guard	5-8/ Jr.	Averaged 13.4 PPG last season at Southeast Missouri State. Second Team All-OVC selection. 7 pts, 6 reb vs Louisiana
Laura Nickel	Guard	6-0/ Sr.	Averaged 6.6 PPG, 4.0 REB, 2.0 AST last season. Season-high 12 points, eight rebounds at Eastern Michigan.
Brooke Blumenfeld	Forward	6-0/ rSoph	Averaged 6.5 PPG and 2.5 REB last season. Scored in double figures in seven games.
Brooke Stonebraker	Forward	6-3/ Grad Sr.	Averaged 11.4 PPG and 9.0 REB last season. Recorded nine double-doubles. Third Team All-MAC selection. 4 pts, 8 reb vs Louisiana

NORTHERN ILLINOIS PLAYER TO WATCH: Guard Chelby Koker

A sixth-year senior, Chelby Koker has appeared in 102 games with 75 starts in her NIU career. She has plenty of collegiate experience under her belt, so don’t expect her to be intimidated facing Iowa. Koker has also played a lot of quality basketball for the Huskies. A three-time All-MAC honoree, she helped NIU to a WBI appearance in the 2022-23 season. Koker, for her career, averages 15.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, including averaging 21.1 points per game as a sophomore. She has totaled 77 career games in double figures scoring, including 30 games with 20+ points scored.

KEY MATCHUP TO WATCH: Forward Brooke Stonebraker vs Center Addi O’Grady/Ava Heiden

In the exhibition against Missouri Western, Jan Jensen’s post duo did not see much height match up against them defensively. Standing at 6’3, Brooke Stonebraker led NIU in scoring and rebounding last season, so she will provide a tougher test in the interior. Jan Jensen says that she doesn’t want O’Grady and Heiden to worry about who is in the starting lineup, but you’d imagine that eventually, whoever is playing the best will get the nod. This will Heiden’s first opportunity to showcase what she can do against DI competition.

BREAKING DOWN THE HUSKIES

The Huskies are under the direction of tenth year head coach and Earling, Iowa native Lisa Carlsen. Last season, NIU finished with a 14-16 overall record and an 8-10 mark in MAC play. They were 0-4 against Q1/2 opponents, including a 75-54 loss at Wisconsin. NIU won their season-opener on Monday against Louisiana, 57-55.

While guard Chelby Koker is the top player to watch for NIU, there are a couple more names to keep an eye on tonight, starting with forward Brooke Stonebraker. In the absence of Koker last season, Stonebraker was the Huskies leading scorer, averaging 11.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. She scored in double figures in 19 games, but Stonebraker will arguably be a bigger threat on the glass where she totaled 12 games with 10+ rebounds, including 16 boards against Western Michigan.

Rounding out the players to know for NIU are a pair of transfer additions. Southeast Missouri State transfer guard Alecia Doyle comes over after averaging 13.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season for the Redhawks. A Second Team All-OVC selection, Doyle scored in double figures in 23 games, including a career-high 31 points against Tennessee Tech.

Although she came off the bench in the opener against Louisiana, Bradley transfer Reagan Barkema put up 12 points in 25 minutes, including three made three-pointers. As a sophomore at Bradley last season, Barkema appeared in 30 games with 25 starts, averaging 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while knocking 45 three-pointers.

THE PICK

WarrenNolan Projection: Iowa 84 NIU 60

I think this NIU team will be better than last season, but Lucy Olsen and Co. should be able to take care of business without much resistance. MAC teams were 0-27 against Quad 1 opponents last season and rated as the NET 18th-best conference in the country. Hawkeyes pick up a commanding victory in what could be the easiest game on their non-conference slate. Win number one of many for head coach Jan Jensen. IOWA 90 NORTHERN ILLINOIS 56