KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan women's basketball heads back out on the road for two games in three days, first taking on Northern Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. ET and then heading to Muncie, Ind. for a faceoff with the Ball State Cardinals on Monday, Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m.
 
WHERE TO WATCH
Each of WMU's next two road games will be available for streaming via ESPN3. The links to each stream are listed above.
 
NOTES ON NORTHERN ILLINOIS (10-13, 7-8 MAC)
The Huskies gear up for Saturday as they come off of a road loss suffered at the hands of Kent State by a final score of 67-43. A pair of Huskies finished in double figures, while junior forward A'Jah Davis broke the NIU single-season record for double-doubles.

Davis led Northern Illinois in scoring and rebounding in Kent, Ohio, totaling 17 points, 10 rebounds, and a pair of steals on the night. Sophomore guard Jayden Marble joined Davis in double figures with 10 points and seven boards of her own. The Huskies were held to just 25.4 percent from the field in the contest, and 8.3 percent from deep.

As a team, the Huskies notch 66.6 PPG shooting at a clip of 39.0 percent from the field, while giving up 71.0 PPG to opponents for a scoring margin of -4.4. NIU also connects on exactly 30 percent of their looks beyond the arc and 72.3 percent of their foul line chances for 7.3 made threes and 10.3 netted free throws each time out.

On the glass, Northern Illinois posts a MAC-best 42.2 boards per game for a rebounding margin of +3.87, which is third in the conference. Additionally, the Huskies dish out 11.9 dimes per contest and post a TO margin of -3.2 so far this season. In terms of current MAC standings, NIU sits in the eight-spot, needing some late wins in its regular season to secure a spot in Cleveland.

So far this year, NIU has been steered statistically by junior guard Chelby Koker, who averages 17.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 4.6 APG. Koker, however, has not taken the floor since the Huskies' first battle with Kent State on Jan. 26 due to injury. A'Jah Davis is next in line for Northern Illinois, tallying averages of 15.8 PPG on 48.4 percent from the field to go with 12.0 RPG. Davis's 12.0 boards per game leads the conference in individual rebounding as well.
 
BREAKING DOWN BALL STATE (14-9, 7-6 MAC)
Ball State will play host to the Broncos on Monday following a bout with the Toledo Rockets this coming Saturday in Toledo. In their most recent action, the Cardinals fell at home to Buffalo by a final score of 67-62. BSU's fourth quarter comeback fell just short as the Bulls were able to escape Muncie with a win.

Three Cardinals posted double-digit evenings against Buffalo, led by fifth-year guard Chyna Latimer, who notched 12 points on 3-5 from the field and a perfect 6 for 6 from the charity stripe to go along with six rebounds and a pair of assists. Junior forward Annie Rauch added 11 points and nine boards off the bench while junior guard Sydney Freeman contributed 10 points, five boards, and two assists. BSU was held to 33.9 percent shooting and 15.4 percent from deep, but won the battle of the boards 44-41 against a strong rebounding team in Buffalo.

Collectively, Ball State scores 71.2 PPG shooting at a rate of 43.1 percent from the field while allowing 67.8 PPG from opponents for a scoring margin of +3.4 on the campaign. That team field goal percentage is good for second in the MAC. The Cardinals also sink 32.5 percent of their looks from three and 69.9 percent of their foul line chances for a conference-leading 9.1 made triples and 9.2 made freebies each time they take the floor.

On the glass, BSU pulls in 35.8 RPG and post a rebounding margin of -1.5 on the year. The Cardinals also dish out a MAC-best 15.7 assists per outing and post a turnover margin of +1.8 as a group. In the ever-changing conference standings, Ball State currently sits at sixth place, ranking one spot below Western Michigan. The two teams play each other twice in three days (Monday and Wednesday), making each game crucial to both teams' conference tournament seeding.

Leading the way for Ball State has been junior guard Anna Clephane, who posts 16.2 PPG on a shooting percentage of exactly 50.0, as well as 2.8 RPG. Clephane has also dealt with injury, and has been sidelined since BSU's own showdown with Kent State on Jan. 9. Sydney Freeman is next for the Cardinals, averaging 10.7 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 2.8 RPG, while also connecting on 91.3 percent of her free throws.
 
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM WESTERN MICHIGAN (14-9, 8-6 MAC)
WMU will hit the road following a solid performance on both sides of the ball against Bowling Green at home on Wednesday. Strong shooting and tenacious defense allowed Western Michigan to hold a lead for all but three minutes of game time en route to a 72-64 victory.

A trio of Broncos had double-figure evenings, led by redshirt sophomore forward Taylor Williams, who posted her seventh double-double of the season with 21 points on 8-13 (61.5 percent) shooting to accompany 11 rebounds and two steals. Sophomore guard and MAC Player of the Week Lauren Ross was next with 17 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals, while senior guard Maddie Watters posted 14 points off the bench, cashing in on 4-7 from three-point land and pulling in two boards. Sophomore guard Megan Wagner did a little bit of everything for her team as well, adding eight points, five assists and four rebounds.

Western Michigan singed the net all evening, connecting on 52 percent of their shots from the field and 55.6 percent from beyond the arc, while yanking down 30 rebounds and dishing out 16 assists collectively. The Broncos also limited Bowling Green, who leads the MAC in field goal percentage and three-point percentage, to just 39.3 percent shooting and 26.7 percent from deep.

As a unit, WMU puts up 66.4 PPG on 41.7 percent shooting while limiting opponents to 62.8 PPG, which is third-lowest in the Mid-American Conference, for a scoring margin of +3.6 on the season. The Broncos also find nylon on 32.9 percent of their three-point attempts and 68.6 percent of their opportunities from the line for 7.2 made threes and 11.9 good free throws each time they hit the hardwood. WMU currently sits in fifth place in the conference standings, making the final two weeks of its regular season of paramount importance for MAC tournament seeding.

Western Michigan has been ushered in terms of scoring this season by Lauren Ross, who currently sits at fifth place conference-wide in scoring and field goal percentage with 19.4 PPG at a rate of 45.6 percent from the floor while grabbing 5.3 RPG. Ross is also third in free throw percentage, nailing 83.7 percent of her freebies this season. Furthermore, Lauren earned both Player of the Week and Female Scholar Athlete of the Week honors, and is the first Bronco to win both awards in the same week since Carrie Moore in November of 2006.

The post tandem of Taylor Williams and Reilly Jacobson, as well as strong bench play, have all been crucial to WMU success in conference play this season, with Jacobson averaging 12.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and shooting at a clip of 45.6 percent. Unfortunately, Jacobson has been missing from the WMU lineup for the past three games due to injury, but Williams and the bench have stepped up in her absence. Williams gives her team 11.8 PPG on 42 percent shooting and leads the rebounding efforts with 8.9 boards per contest, while the Bronco reserves have averaged a clean 20 PPG over the past three outings.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Following Monday's road battle with Ball State, Western Michigan turns around to host the very same Cardinal team for the second meeting in three days on Wednesday. Tip-off against BSU from University Arena on Feb. 23 is set for 7 p.m. and will be available for streaming via ESPN3.

Wednesday's face off will also be the Broncos' Play 4 Kay Game in an effort to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer. The squad will sport pink accessories on-court and pink pom-poms will be given out to each fan who attends. Fans will also have an opportunity to create signs in honor of friends/loved ones who have had personal battles with the disease, and are encouraged to show their support by wearing pink to the game.

Students get into all WMU home games with a valid Bronco ID, and further ticket information can be found at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets, or by calling 1-888-4-WMU-TIX. We will see you all inside The Zoo on Wednesday!

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