Four Northern Illinois University women’s basketball student-athletes were named Academic All-District from College Sports Communicators on Tuesday.

Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO), Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran), Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) and Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall) all earned the honor for their play on the court as well as their achievement in the classroom.

This is Koker’s second Academic All-District selection. She was last an Academic All-District honoree in the 2022-23 season. The sixth-year guard currently holds a 4.0 grade point average as she works toward her Master’s degree in data analytics. Koker was named to the All-MAC Third Team after leading NIU with 14.7 points and 4.7 assists per game. She was named Mid-American Conference Player of the Week twice this season on Feb. 18 and March 4. Koker finished the season with three-straight 20-point games, including a season-high 28 points in the Huskies’ 84-77 double overtime win over Bowling Green on March 1. She finished the regular season fourth in the MAC in free throw percentage at 84.0 percent, sixth in assists and eighth in scoring. She earned MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors five times in her career.

McCrea and Nickel also earned their second Academic All-District selections. Nickel has a 3.939 GPA in health sciences. The senior guard played in all 30 games, making 18 starts. She averaged 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. She tied her career-high in scoring with 14 points at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 22. McCrea has a 3.953 graduate GPA as he works toward her master’s in business administration. She finished her career ninth all-time at NIU with 167 career three-pointers. McCrea scored a career-high 21 points in the final game of the regular season at Miami on March 8.

This is Doyle’s first career Academic All-District honor. She holds a 3.953 GPA in health sciences. Doyle was NIU’s second-leading scorer on the season at 11.5 points per game. She had six 20-point games on the year, including a season-high 23 points in NIU’s 73-69 win over Kent State on Feb. 5. Doyle followed that up with 22 points in a win at Appalachian State on Feb. 8, earning MAC Player of the Week that week.

Outstanding student-athletes are nominated for Academic All-District recognition by communications directors and must have a minimum 3.50 GPA and meet high athletic standards.