A’Jah Davis sets record, NIU women clinch MAC tournament berth

A’Jah Davis recorded her 51st career double-double, setting a school record. And with NIU’s 73-63 home win over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, she gave herself at least one additional game to add to that record.

The Huskies (16-12, 8-9 Mid-American Conference) clinched a spot in the MAC tournament with the win over the Eagles (14-14, 6-11).

“It’s humbling, but I feel a lot of the credit goes to my teammates and coaches,” Davis said on becoming NIU’s new career double-doubles leader. “I feel a lot of credit has to go to my teammate Brooke Stonebraker, who has made me better from Day 1 as a freshman.”

Davis had a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds, locking up her 51st career double-double with her 10th rebound at the 9:29 mark of the fourth quarter. She surpasses Tammy Hinchee, who had 50 double-doubles from 1986 to 1990. Davis also had a game-high five assists. She now has 991 career rebounds, moving into sixth all-time at NIU past Ally Lehman, who had 990 from 2013 to 2017.

It’s humbling, but I feel a lot of the credit goes to my teammates and coaches.

—  NIU center A'Jah Davis

The Huskies had three other players score in double figures on the night. Chelby Koker had 15 points, three rebounds and three assists. Sophomore forward Laura Nickel scored a career-high 14 points, with 10 coming in the second half. Janae Poisson had 10 points off the bench and made two threes to give her 250 three-pointers in her career.

“We had great balance tonight,” NIU coach Lisa Carlsen said. “A lot of people at different times stepped up and hit some big shots. We needed to shoot the ball better because we struggled offensively against Eastern Michigan the first time we played them, and we did tonight.”

The Huskies close the regular season Saturday at Kent State (19-9, 11-6). A win would guarantee NIU the No. 5 seed at the MAC tournament Wednesday in Cleveland. A loss would allow any of the three teams one game behind the Huskies to catch them.