The Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team held the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns scoreless for the final 8:37 of Monday’s season opener at the NIU Convocation Center, rallying for a 57-55 win on Education Day.

“I was really proud of our ability to stick together,” said head coach Lisa Carlsen following Monday’s exciting win. “The game was physical and tough and wasn’t pretty at times. This is a group that has played a lot of minutes and understands what we are trying to accomplish. They had to go through that. We did enough to win, we made critical plays in critical situations.”

NIU (1-0) trailed by as much as 11 late in the third quarter before junior transfers Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO) and Reagan Barkema (Story City, Iowa/Bradley) combined to go on a 6-2 run that cut the deficit to seven, 51-44, going into the fourth. The Ragin’ Cajuns got the lead back to nine with 8:37 to go on a pair of Kamryn Jones’ baskets, taking a 55-46 advantage but that would be Louisiana’s last points of the game.

The Huskies put the clamps down defensively from there, holding Louisiana to an 0-for-12 from the field the rest of the way. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran), in her first game after missing the entire 2023-24 season due to injury, made back-to-back threes to get NIU within three, 55-52, at the 5:30 mark. Barkema then knocked down her third three-pointer of the game with 2:49 to go to tie the game at 55 off Koker’s ninth assist of the game. Koker finished the game leading all scorers with 18 points, adding nine rebounds and nine assists.

“We don’t win without her (Koker) on the floor today,” Carlsen said. “She is one of the most competitive players I’ve ever coached and she will do what is asked of her. The box score shows that, but it’s her heart that makes her so special to this program. We are super lucky to have her back.”

NIU finally took the lead with 0:29 left when Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) put back a Doyle miss to make the score 57-55. Stonebraker then blocked a Uniyah Franklin shot with 0:09 to go, but the ball went out of bounds to give the Ragin’ Cajuns one last chance to either tie or win the game. Lanay Wheaton’s three-point try rattled out and the Huskies hung on for the win.

Louisiana (0-1) got out to an 11-6 lead in the first six minutes of the game. NIU closed the quarter on a 9-2 run, getting threes from Koker, Lexi Carlsen (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) and Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) at the buzzer to give the Huskies a 15-13 advantage. The lead changed hands six times in the second quarter, with Louisiana scoring the final six points to take a 32-27 halftime lead.

NIU shot 35.4 percent from the field for the game, making 11-of-27 three-point attempts. Koker was 5-of-6 from long range as Barkema made 3-of-6 off the bench. Stonebraker had eight rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots. Louisiana shot 31.9 percent from the field but was held to 2-for-15 in the fourth quarter. Wheaton led the Ragin’ Cajuns with 17 points as Tamiah Robinson had a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Huskies head to Iowa City, Iowa on Wednesday, Nov. 6 for a matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m.