The Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team opens its 2025-26 season on Monday night at Reed Green Coliseum against the Southern Miss Lady Eagles in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. CT with the game broadcast on ESPN+ and the radio call on NIUHuskies.com.

The Huskies made a solid first impression in new head coach Jacey Brooks’ first game at the NIU Convocation Center Wednesday night, defeating Benedictine 74-47 in exhibition action. NIU ran out to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter and held the Eagles without a field goal for the first 8:27 of the game. The Huskies forced 29 turnovers, 24 of which were steals, which led to 25 points.

Junior transfer Nevaeh Wingate (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John’s) led all scorers with 19 points and nine rebounds, adding five steals. Freshman guard Sa’Mahn Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) scored 14 points off the bench, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. Senior forward Teresa Mbemba (Benguela, Angola/Presbyterian) had 10 points and seven rebounds.

This is the third year of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. NIU is 3-1 in the event, winning both of its games last season. The Huskies won 57-55 over Louisiana at the Convocation Center to start the year, erasing an 11-point third quarter deficit. Reagan Barkema (Story City, Iowa/Bradley) scored 12 points off the bench with three three-pointers to help NIU start the year 1-0. Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO) led all scorers with 22 points in the Huskies’ 75-62 at Appalachian State on Feb. 8.

Southern Miss was picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt preseason coaches’ poll. The Lady Eagles were 10-21 a year ago and hired a new head coach in Missy Bilderback who had coached at Sun Belt member ULM. Graduate guard Jakayla Johnson was a First Team All-Sun Belt player in 2024, finishing third in the league in scoring at 15.8 points per game for ULM. Another ULM transfer Meloney Thames was selected to the preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team. Thames started 29 games at ULM last season and averaged 13.1 points per game.

The home opener for NIU women’s basketball is on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. against Milwaukee. Season Tickets for the 2025-26 season start at $35 for general admission and $50 in reserved sections. Courtside seats and Nelson Suite access is also available. For more information, contact the NIU Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225) weekdays between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or via email at huskiestickets@niu.edu.