Junior forward A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) set a new NIU women's basketball single-season record with her 18th double-double on Wednesday night as the Huskies fell 67-43 to the Kent State Golden Flashes at the M.A.C. Center.
Davis led NIU with 17 points and 10 rebounds to notch her record-breaking double-double. The previous record of 17 was set by Ally Lehman in the 2016-17 season. Davis was 6-for-15 from the field and 5-for-8 at the foul line. It was her seventh straight game with a double-double.
"I'm really proud of A'Jah," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "She's been working really hard this season, not just scoring the basketball but on her rebounding as well. I was happy to see her break that record tonight."
Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) was the other Huskie to score in double-figures on the night. The sophomore guard had 10 points and six rebounds for the second straight game, scoring six points in the fourth quarter alone.
NIU (10-13, 7-8 MAC) and Kent State traded baskets to start the game, with a Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) three-pointer tying the game 5-5 at the 7:48 mark of the first quarter. Back-to-back layups from Marable and Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) gave the Huskies a 9-7 lead with 5:49 to go in the first. The Golden Flashes came back to take a 12-10 lead on layups by Katie Shumate and Nila Blackford at the 4:40 mark. Emily Meinert (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College) tied the game at 12-12 with 3:28 left in the quarter but that was NIU's last field goal of the period. The Golden Flashes closed the quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 23-14 lead, getting three threes from Shumate and Bridget Dunn.
Kent State (16-7, 8-6 MAC) opened the second quarter scoring five of the first seven points to go ahead by 12, 28-16, with 8:01 remaining until halftime. Davis shouldered the scoring load for the Huskies, scoring all 10 of NIU's points in the quarter. The junior forward was 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 at the foul line, with her last basket of the period at the 2:43 mark getting NIU within 11 35-24. Hannah Young made Kent State's sixth three of the first half in the final seconds to give the Golden Flashes a 38-24 halftime lead. The Golden Flashes held NIU to 29 percent from the field in the first half, while shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 50 percent from long range.
Davis had 15 points and three rebounds in the first half. She pulled down four rebounds in the third quarter as Kent State pulled away to take a 53-28 lead. With 2:38 left to play in the game, Davis pulled down her 10th rebound of the game on an offensive board to complete the record-breaking double-double.
The Huskies shot just 25.4 percent from the field and were 2-for-24 from the three-point line. Kent State shot 52.8 percent from the field, scoring 38 points in the paint. NIU outrebounded the Golden Flashes 36-31. Shumate led Kent State with 15 points as Blackford had 14 points and nine rebounds.
NIU returns to the Convocation Center on Saturday, Feb. 19 to take on Western Michigan at 1 p.m. for the "Cram the Convo" doubleheader with the NIU men's basketball team. Tickets can be purchased online at NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
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