EIU and NIU women’s basketball to face off Saturday

Both the Panthers and the Huskies are on a six game win streak.

Matt+Bollant%2C+Easterns+womens+basketball+head+coach%2C+talks+to+his+players+during+a+media+timeout+during+the+womens+basketball+game+against+the+Loyola+University+Chicago+Ramblers+in+Lantz+Arena.

Rob Le Cates

Matt Bollant, Eastern’s women’s basketball head coach, talks to his players during a media timeout during the women’s basketball game against the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers in Lantz Arena.

Kate Stevens, Assistant Sports Editor

Eastern Illinois University (6-0) vs. Northern Illinois (6-1)  

Tipoff: Dec. 3 at 3:30 p.m.  

Location: Lantz Arena – Charleston, Ill.   

Series Record: EIU leads 10-9 

Last Meeting: EIU and NIU last met in 2021 where the Panthers beat the Huskies 87-81 in Chicago.  

Last game for the Panthers: EIU won their 6th straight game 96-67 on Mon., Nov. 28 as they hosted Wright State.   

EIU players to watch:   

Senior guard Lariah Washington is leading the Panthers in scoring as she averages 18.5 points per game. She is currently in first place in the OVC for her scoring average.  

Sophomore forward Macy McGlone and senior forward Morgan Litwiller lead EIU in rebounding as they are both averaging 7.2 and 5.8 per game, respectively. McGlone is currently in 4th overall in the OVC and Litwiller is right behind her in 7th.   

Sophomore Miah Monahan leads the Panthers and the OVC in assists with 5.8 per game. She is currently 20th in the nation in assists.   

NIU players to watch:  

Senior forward A’Jah Davis leads the huskies in scoring as she averages 15.3 per game and has a .589 field goal percentage and she also leads in rebounds as she averages 9.4 per game.

Grad student guard Janae Poisson also leads in scoring with a 13.4 points per game and a .466 field goal percentage. 

EIU offense: EIU averages 78.0 points per game, 18.0 assists per game, and they have a .472 field goal percentage.   

EIU defense: EIU averages 40.2 rebounds per game, 7.8 steals per game, and 1.8 blocks per game.  

NIU offense: NIU averages 73.4 points per game, 16.6 assists per game, and they have a .432 field goal percentage.  

NIU defense: NIU averages 39.0 rebounds per game, 8.6 steals per game, and 1.6 blocks per game.  

Key Matchup: EIU’s McGlone and NIU’s Davis will be quite the matchup as they are both top two scorers and the best rebounders on their teams. They know how to get the points in the paint as well as grabbing those rebounds. 

Series Notes: This will be the 20th all-time meeting for EIU and NIU. EIU won the first game of the series last year as they broke NIU’s five-game winning streak in the series.