Northern Illinois posted its top scores of the season on vault, balance beam and floor exercise and overcame a 1.225 point deficit in the final half of the meet to defeat Ball State, 192.925-191.125 Saturday in Victor E. Court.

DeKALB – Kathi Bennett had just watched her vision take life for two hours on the Convocation Center court.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Northern Illinois women’s tennis team completed its first weekend of the spring season with a close-fought win over SouthernIllinois University Edwardsville. The Huskies split the match 3-3 in singles play and relied on a 3-0 record from its doubles teams to decide the winner.

DeKALB – Its lead had almost evaporated, its shots weren't falling and, for one of the only times Saturday afternoon, Northern Illinois was in trouble.

DeKALB – When Mark Montgomery was hired as the Northern Illinois men’s basketball coach last spring, the first player many fans thought of was Tim Toler.

AKRON, Ohio – The Northern Illinois women's basketball team ended a six-year drought at Akron with a 72-66 victory Wednesday at Rhodes Arena.

Northern Illinois named North Dakota State associate head coach/goalkeepers coach John Ross as its newest women’s soccer coach, NIU announced Tuesday. Ross replaces Carrie Barker, who was let go at the end of her fourth season.

The Northern Illinois gymnastics season continued on an upward swing Sunday at the NIU Convocation Center, where the Huskies improved their season-best score by a monumental margin of three points, but fell to a red-hot Western Michigan team, 194.575-193.350.

DEKALB – The momentum is gone for the Northern Illinois women’s basketball team.

Looking at the rebuilding process at NIU

NIU win comes with much relief

DeKALB – Close is good. Close means improvement, the ability to be competitive. It signifies a potentially better future.

Samantha Hill isn’t the type who needs to give her teammates a pep talk or be a loud presence on the soccer field. The actions from the Geneva High alumna speak loud enough.

Trailing by 12 at halftime, the Northern Illinois women’s basketball team came all the way back to grab a late lead but could not hang on as Ball State won, 50-43, at Worthen Arena on Wednesday night.

Redemption, champions and inspiration across DeKalb County

The Northern Illinois women’s basketball team’s third bid for a three-game winning streak came up short against Eastern Illinois, 72-62, on Thursday night at Lantz Arena.  The setback came due large in part to the Panthers’ opportunistic defense and sound offensive rebounding.

DeKALB – Amanda Corral never had asked Northern Illinois women’s basketball coach Kathi Bennett to take her off the court. The freshman guard practices like a “mad woman,” Bennett said. Her energy, intensity and hustle are helping the Huskies define their identity.

Year-old knee injury hasn't hampered Corral's freshman season

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Courtney Shelton had been feeling it all night, and she felt it when it mattered most, nailing the game-winning three-pointer from the left wing with nine seconds left to give Northern Illinois a 60-59 win over Indiana at Assembly Hall on Saturday night. The victory gave NIU its first against a Big Ten opponent since 2006.

Northern Illinois women’s basketball players know their coach, Kathi Bennett, used to be the head coach at Indiana.

DeKALB – Northern Illinois volleyball’s Lauren Wicinski and Kristin Hoffman were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American list, the organization announced Wednesday.

DeKALB – Kathi Bennett had every reason for confidence.

AMES, Iowa – Lane Carico’s match-ending kill rolled off the hands of Northern Illinois’ blockers and softly fell to the court inches out of the diving reach of Lauren Wicinski.

DeKALB – The Northern Illinois women’s basketball team closed out an up-and-down November with a 53-50 win over Southern Illinois on Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.

The Northern Illinois volleyball team earned an at-large spot in the 2011 NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Sunday, announced live on ESPNU during the tournament selection show.

The Northern Illinois volleyball team closed out their regular season Saturday at Victor E. Court with a commanding 3-0 sweep of the Marquette Golden Eagles.

DeKALB – Both of the Northern Illinois basketball teams came into Sunday searching for improvement.

GENEVA, Ohio - Trailing 2-0 to No. 6 seed Central Michigan and out of rhythm, the No. 1 seeded Northern Illinois volleyball team nearly dug itself completely out of a hole as the Huskies fell four points shy of winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship in five sets (21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 11-15).

DeKALB – The look was astonishment mixed with a bit of curiosity. NIU’s best, pure post player, freshman Keith Gray, had just picked up his fifth foul on a regrettable decision – a charge near the basket with 4:15 left.

Northern Illinois volleyball sophomore outside hitter Lauren Wicinski was named Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, and senior Kristin Hoffman earned MAC Setter of the Year, on Thursday by the league office.

NIU beats Western Illinois, 91-84

The Northern Illinois women’s basketball team dropped its season opener to Loyola, 73-42, Sunday at North Park Gym.

Step inside our 2011-12 basketball preview

Northern Illinois’ men’s and women’s basketball seasons are upon us, with the men starting their regular season tonight and the women’s season getting under way Sunday. Here are a few things to watch for the upcoming seasons:

Daily Chronicle sports editor John Sahly and sports reporter Ryan Wood spend their days covering the area’s sports scene. Occasionally, they give their viewpoints on those local sports. In this installment of their 2011 Take 2 column, they discuss Northern Illinois upcoming men’s and women’s basketball seasons.

DeKALB – Those who hadn’t left the court congregated at one end. Practice was over. Time to relax, chat, wait for another day.

Facing a raucous crowd at WMU’s University Arena, the Northern Illinois volleyball team defeated Western Michigan Thursday night, 3-1, to clinch the Mid-American Conference’s West Division and regular season crown.

The Northern Illinois women’s basketball program received three National Letters of Intent for the 2012-13 season on Wednesday’s signing day from forward McKenzie Hoelmenn, guard Alexis Lindstrom, and forward Nichole Wittman.

In its lone exhibition contest of the 2011-12 season, the Northern Illinois women’s basketball team fell to Indiana Wesleyan 61-52 Tuesday night at the NIU Convocation Center. 

DeKALB – Justine Schepler doesn't rush at the service line. Serving is her skill, her "job." The line is her comfort spot on the court.

For the 15th time this season, the Northern Illinois volleyball team came away with a three-set win as NIU took down Toledo 3-0 at Victor E. Court Friday night in a Mid-American Conference West Division contest.  Improving to 22-5, 11-2 in MAC play, the Huskies pushed their season-long winning streak to 10 matches and grabbed a share of first place in the division.

The Northern Illinois women's basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll, as voted on by the league's coaches and select members of the media, released Tuesday.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Spoiling Central Michigan’s senior night, the Northern Illinois volleyball team ended the weekend with a 3-1 win at McGuirk Arena Saturday night in a Mid-American Conference West Division contest.  With the victory, the Huskies (21-5, 10-2 MAC) upped their season-long winning streak to nine matches and improved to a stellar 10-1 away from Victor E. Court.

MAC to discuss NCAA board's approvals

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA is giving college sports a whole new look.

DeKALB – Kathi Bennett looked at the tape.

Northern Illinois athletics ranks among the top universities in the Mid-American Conference, and has once again topped the national average in the Graduation Success Rate of its student-athletes, according to data released Wednesday by the NCAA.

Mark Montgomery and Kathi Bennett – along with some of their players – gave their season outlook during Tuesday afternoon's media day at the Convocation Center. Here are some notes on both programs.

WASHINGTON – NCAA President Mark Emmert backed a proposal to allow conferences to increase grants to student athletes by $2,000, "to more closely approach" the full cost of attending college, beyond the athletic scholarships athletes receive for tuition, fees, room, board and books.

More than 300 major college football and men's basketball players are telling the NCAA and college presidents they want a cut of ever-increasing TV sports revenue to fatten scholarships and cover all the costs of getting a degree, with athletes picking up still more grant money when they graduate.