Koker puts up 28 in NIU’s loss to Ohio

DeKALB - Sophomore Chelby Koker had a monster game for NIU, but the Huskies couldn’t pull down the victory, losing 77-67 to the Ohio Bobcats at home.

Koker finished with a game-high 28 points on 10 for 17 shooting, including 6 for 10 from downtown.

“(It’s) just knowing to attack the ball and look for my open teammates and take care of the ball,” Koker said. “Just play the game how I know should be able to.”

Koker added eight boards and eight assists to round out her game.

The Huskies fell behind early in the second half and couldn’t mount the comeback, despite the strong game from Koker.

The Huskies (2-4, 0-2 in MAC) trailed by two points at the half, but the Bobcats jumped all over the Huskies out of the half time break.

Senior Cece Hooks exploded for 12 points in the third period to push the Bobcats (3-1, 1-1) lead to 60-50 going into the final quarter.

“We let (Hooks) get too deep in the paint and she took over in spurts,” NIU coach Lisa Carlsen said.

Hooks finished with a team-high 26 points.

The Huskies cut the lead to seven points on a Koker three-pointer with 8:22 left in the game, but that is as close as the Huskies would get for the rest of the game.

“I thought we competed well,” Huskies sophomore A’Jah Davis said. “I just think that at crucial times we needed to get stops, but we fouled.”

Davis came one rebound short of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

“We feel like we’re a much more balanced team when (Davis) is on the floor,” Carlsen said. “She gives us a low post presence that people really have to be concerned about.”

The teams played even in the first half with neither team holding more than a five-point lead.

By the numbers: For the Huskies, Janae Poisson had 12 points and Mikayla Brandon had 10 rebounds.

Beyond the stats: The Huskies shot only four free throws all game compared to 15 for the Bobcats.

They said it: “I think it’s probably a combination of things,” Carlsen said. “We’re a team that’s going to have to shoot it from the perimeter. So anytime you do that there might be a situation where you don’t shoot as many free throws, but we stay aggressive, as well.”

Up next: The Huskies travel to Michigan State on Sunday at 2 p.m. Ohio plays West Virginia at 1 p.m on Sunday.