THE NEED TO KNOWS
Tipoff: Saturday, January 21, 1 p.m. (DeKalb, Ill./Convocation Center)
Video: ESPN3
Radio: WLBK 98.9 FM/1360 AM
Live Stats: NIUHuskies.com

MATCHUP DETAILS
NIU leads Miami in the all-time series, 17-17; NIU leads in DeKalb, 12-7

FREE THROWS
• The game's honorary coaches for NIU's 60th Season Celebration are Lisa Foss, Tammy Hinchee and Kris Weis. All three were members of NIU's first NCAA Tournament team with Weis serving as team co-captain. Foss and Hinchee are NIU's all-time leaders in points and rebounds, respectively.
• NIU women's basketball is No. 3 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 88.2 points per game, three points shy of national leader Baylor, and have scored at least 90 points seven times.
• Northern Illinois University is 6-1 at home this season and have averaged 91.6 points at the NIU Convocation Center in 2016-17.
• The Huskies are the only team in the country with three scorers averaging at least 16.0 points per game this season. Duke, Syracuse and UConn each have two scorers with at least said average.
• Nine times this season, including four of its last five games, NIU has had five players score in double figures. Six different Huskies are averaging 10-or-more points.
• In the team's last four wins, Cassidy Glenn has made the go-ahead basket for the Huskies.
• Lehman enters Saturday's game 11 points shy of moving into the top-20 of the all-time scoring annals at NIU.
• The Huskies went to the free throw line a season-low six times Wednesday against Akron.
• NIU split its series with Miami last season, winning at home, 92-73, and falling in Oxford, 66-60.

BOUNCING BACK
• NIU lost for only the fifth time this season on Wednesday, ending a six-game unbeaten streak that started Dec. 20, 2016 at UMKC.
• In its previous four losses prior to the Akron game on Wednesday, the Huskies had not dropped consecutive games.
• In its four wins follow losses, the Huskies have outscored their foes by over 22 points with an average of 89.5 points per game.
• Two of the Huskies five games with 90-or-more points have occurred the game after losses as they scored 94 versus Chicago State (Nov. 22) and 97 against SIUE (Dec. 16).
• Defensively, NIU has also allowed its opponents to a 36.9 percent field goal percentage, including a clip of 27 percent behind the three-point line.
• The Huskies are averaging 10 three-point field goals per game following losses, shooting 42 percent beyond the arc.
• With five scorers averaging double figures, Cassidy Glenn has paced the team offensively with an average of 19.3.
• Ally Lehman owns averages of 15.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists in games following losses this season.

JUST CAUSE THE NUMBERS ARE SILLY
• In losses this season, NIU is shooting an even 40 percent as a team with a 79 percent free throw average and four players registering double figures on the scoreboard.
• Coming off a 55-point effort versus Akron, the Huskies are still averaging 78.4 points in losses.
• In addition, the NIU offense is only averaging 13.6 assists in those five contests, two helpers under its season median.

DIVERSITY IN ITS SCORING
• In the last three wins for Northern Illinois University, the Huskies have relied on four different scorers to carry them to victory.
• Cassidy Glenn registered 24 points versus Ohio, taking 22 of the team's 59 and closing the afternoon with a .409 field goal percentage.
• At the start of the road trip at Kent State, Janae Poisson scored the first 20-point off the bench for NIU since 2014 with career-high 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
• Ally Lehman and Courtney Woods rounded out the quartet at Savage Arena versus the Rockets, scoring 20 and 21, respectively.
• In all three outings, NIU had five scorers reach double figures.

WE ARE WHO WE ARE - NO IDENTITY CRISIS
• The Huskies equal scoring all season has been a big part of the team's success to start the year.
• NIU has had four-or-more players with 10 points-or-more in a game 13 times this season and five-or-more hit the mark nine times.
• Third nationally in average points (88.2), all five of the Huskies starters – Cassidy Glenn, Ally Lehman, Kelly Smith, Mikayla Voigt Courtney Woods – are averaging double figures while substitute Janae Poisson is averaging 10.7 points per game off the bench.

STARTING OUT ON THE GOOD FOOT
• NIU has gotten off to its best start ever as a member of the Mid-American Conference with a 5-1 record.
• NIU's first half play has been key as well, outscoring its foes, 43-38, while shooting .457 from the field and only allowing 6.8 turnovers.
• Courtney Woods has been a catalyst for the Huskies offensively in the opening 20 minutes, averaging 9.6 points and shooting .464 from the field and at a .429 clip behind the arc.
• Bucking historical trends as well, NIU had not won at Bowling Green since 2004 until last week. It also picked up its third-ever win at Kent State and its first win at Toledo since 2007.
• The Huskies also had not beaten Ohio, the two-time reigning MAC Champion, in their last three attempts.

GET TO THE LINE
• With 130 trips to the free throw line in the last six games, NIU has stuck to its game plan of attacking the rim and drawing fouls.
• The Huskies are 102-for-130 (.784) in the last six games at the free throw line.
• During the team's win over Ohio at the NIU Convocation Center, Northern Illinois University went to the line a season-best 35 times, converting 31 attempts, also a season-high.
• Averaging just under 22 attempts per game, the Huskies lowest shot free throw total in the last six games occurred versus Akron, going 1-for-5.
NIU's previous low was at Kent State, shooting 17-for-19 at the charity stripe.
• NIU's recent successes at the line have pushed the program to No. 4 nationally in team free throw percentage with an 79.9 percent clip.
• The program is also 20th in free throws made with 278 this season (16.3/G).

TURNING DOWN THE VOLUME BUT STILL MAKING NOISE
• The Huskies enter the game with a season field goal attempts average of 71.2 per game, however, the average has been on the decline in the last three games but it hasn't been detrimental to the squad.
• Twice in the last four games, NIU has attempted fewer than 60 shots in a game, first shooting fewer than 60 on Jan. 7 versus Ohio. Northern Illinois University finished 29-for-59 against the Bobcats (.441).
• The Huskies attempted fewer shots at Toledo last Saturday when they were 27-for-56 from the field (.481).
• At Kent State, NIU shot a season-best 56 percent from the field in 64 attempts from the field, including 20 treys.

POISSON'S BIG NIGHT
• Freshman Janae Poisson led the Huskies with 27 points off the bench last Wednesday night, scoring 12 points in the second quarter and 10 in the fourth, to help NIU past Kent State, 98-97.
• The performance which included a 9-of-17 shooting from the field and a flawless 5-for-5 clip at the charity stripe.
• Her performance was the highest total off the bench since Amanda Corral scored 24 at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 26, 2014.
• Poisson's 20-point game was the first by a freshman since Courtney Woods scored 21 points at Ball State last season.
• In addition, Poisson's 27 points were the most by a freshman since at least 2001 when Jennifer Youngblood scored 26 versus Western Michigan on Feb. 24, 2001.
• Including Poisson's game, the 20-point plateau has only been reached six times since 2011-12 by NIU freshmen.

THE VERY DEFINITION OF #MACTION
• With a 12-5 start to the season, the MAC is starting to take notice of what NIU women's basketball is all about.
• The Huskies lead the MAC in points per game and are No. 3 in the country at 88.2
• On the season, NIU has averaged 15.7 assists per outing, the third-best distribution clip in the conference.
• Behind the arc, Northern Illinois is second the MAC in three-point field goal percentage (37.4) while also ranking in the top-25 nationally.
• In 13 of the team's first 17 games, four-or-more players have reached double figures, including five-or-more nine times. Six different players are registering 10-or-more points per game.
• The Huskies are averaging 81 possessions per game in its first 16 games. NIU recorded a season-high 114 possessions in a double overtime victory over the Panthers.

THE COMEBACK KIDS
• With 45 seconds left in the third quarter at Kent State Wednesday night, the NIU women's basketball team found itself in a 12-point hole, 78-66.
• A pair of free throws with 0.9 left by Janae Poisson were the catalyst for the Huskies play in the fourth quarter as they charged toward their second double figures comeback of the season.
• Just 2:49 into the fourth quarter, NIU took its first lead of the second half and took its final with 3:06 remaining in the game, though the Golden Flashes did their best to reclaim the lead.
• Northern Illinois University outscored KSU in the final period, 30-19, to take the contest, 98-97.
• The rally to victory was NIU's second 12-point comeback of the season, last recording the feat in an 114-104 double overtime win over Milwaukee at the Convocation Center on Nov. 16.
• In the last two seasons under Head Coach Lisa Carlsen, the Huskies have overcome five double-digit deficits.
• The Huskies' senior class - Cassidy Glenn, Amber Gray and Ally Lehman - have posted seven comebacks of 10-or-more points in the last four years with at least one each season.
• During the four season stretch of 2006-10, NIU overcame 10-points deficits nine times.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• Miami (Ohio) is 7-12 this season with a 1-5 clip in the Mid-American Conference.
• The RedHawks have played an equal amount of games on the road and at home in MAC play thus far and are 0-3 on the road with losses at Buffalo, Central Michigan and Toledo.
• On Jan. 11, Miami University defeated Eastern Michigan at Millett Hall, 72-61, as its tallied 10 three-point field goals to the Eagles five in the game.
• Lauren Dickerson has been the team's leader offensively this season with an average of 14.6 points per game.
• The team's rebounding has been by committee as four players are averaging at least four rebounds per game but no more than 5.4. Molly McDonagh leads the squad in that category.
• Defensively, the RedHawks are only allowing their opponents to 64 points per game.

NEXT UP
• Northern Illinois University will close its homestand Wednesday night when it hosts Kent State, two weeks to the day from its last meeting in Kent, Ohio.
• Tipoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. Central. The game will be aired live on ESPN3.