THE MATCHUP
Western Michigan (9-6, 2-1 MAC)
vs. Northern Illinois (10-4, 2-1 MAC)
 
Series Record – WMU leads, 36-24
Date / Time – Jan. 10, 7:00 p.m.
Location – Kalamazoo, Mich. (University Arena)
 

BROADCAST INFORMATION
ESPN3 – Mike Monaco (PBP) & Angelique Gaddy (Color)
Radio – 1660 AM The Fan, Aaron Coyle
Live Stats – wmustats.com
Twitter Updates - @WMU_WBB
 
PURCHASE
Online – wmubroncos.com/tickets
Person – Bronco Ticket Office
Phone – 1-888-4-WMU-TIX
 
LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan picked up its first Mid-American Conference road win on Saturday afternoon as the Broncos defeated Kent State 66-61. Riding a two-point lead into the fourth, junior guard Deja Wimby led the charge for WMU, scoring five of her 17 points to start the quarter and help seal the victory. Two other Broncos scored in double figures including Breanna Mobley's 12 points to go along with 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season and Marley Hill's 15 points and a career-high six blocks. The Broncos improve to 9-6 overall and 2-1 in the conference and have now won five of their last six contests.
 
INSIDE THE STRETCH
During the six-game stretch, the team has outscored opponents by a margin of 15.0 and outrebounded opponents by 11.7 a game. Junior Breanna Mobley has led the way for the Broncos during the stretch, scoring 16.3 points per game while junior teammate Deja Wimby is at 11.0 and redshirt senior Marley Hill has scored 8.5 points to go along with 13 blocks. WMU has a higher field goal, three-point and free-throw percentage, assist-turnover ratio and averages more blocks and steals per game than its opponents in the last six games.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Broncos continue their mini home stand on Saturday, Jan. 13, hosting Ohio at 2:00 p.m. before returning to the road and playing at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, Jan. 17 with tip scheduled for 7 p.m. Following Eastern, the next home game is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 20 against Miami for "Daddy/Daughter Day".
 
MOBLEY ON A MISSION
Junior forward Breanna Mobley has been a double-double threat each and every game since dawning Brown and Gold. The Lansing, Mich., native has recorded 26 double-doubles in 62 career start and last time out she finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh this season. Mobley has also scored in double-figures 12 times this season including the last six outings. She is currently ranked ninth in the MAC with 15.3 points per game and her 8.8 rebounds per game is good for fourth in the league.
 
CREEPING UP ON 1,000
Breanna Mobley has been a scoring machine for the Broncos during her career in a Brown and Gold uniform. In just 78 games played, the junior forward has a total of 943 points for a 12.1 average and looks to become the 26^th WMU 1,000 Point Club Member. This year the Lansing, Mich., native has poured in 229 points including a season-high 26 against Rutgers at the Florida Gulf Coast Showcase back on Nov. 25, 2017.
 
TEAM MAC RANKINGS
As a team, WMU can be found in the conference's top-5 in many statistical categories throughout all games played this season. Those categories include scoring defense (3rd), scoring margin (4th), field-goal percentage defense (4th), 3-point field goal defense (2nd), rebounding offense (2nd), rebounding margin (3rd), blocks (4th), and steals (5th).  
 
INDIVIDUAL MAC RANKINGS
Individually, the Broncos boast four familiar names that can be found throughout the top-15 of statistical categories in the MAC. Junior Breanna Mobley is ninth in the conference for scoring (15.3), fourth in rebounding (8.8), second in offensive rebounding (4.3), tenth in defensive rebounding (4.5), seventh in field goal percentage (.535) and 13^th in free-throw percentage (.788). Junior counterpart Deja Wimby is fourth in assists (4.9), 11th in steals (1.9), ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.4) and 15th in defensive rebounds (4.1). Redshirt senior Marley Hill sits in sixth in blocked shots (1.3) and 13^th in offensive rebounds (2.1) while sophomore Emma VanZanten is 10th in blocks (0.9).
 
THE MATCHUP
Western Michigan holds a 36-24 lead in the all-time series with the Huskies and is 22-7 inside University Arena. The Broncos have won two-straight and five of six at home against NIU but fell in the final meeting last year in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinals.  
 
HUSKIES SCOUTING REPORT
Northern Illinois, who is coached by Lisa Carlsen in her third season, comes in receiving votes for the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 Poll and are 10-4 overall, 2-1 in the MAC and 4-2 on the road this season. The Huskies have won six of their last eight and are on a two-game winning streak after recently defeating Kent State and Buffalo at home last week.  NIU has four players averaging in double figures, including junior Courtney Woods, who averages 20.2 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Kelly Smith scores 15.5 ppg while Mikayla Voigt averages 15.3 to round out the top-three. As a team, the Huskies rank second in the conference in scoring offense (81.9) and fourth in field goal percentage (.436).