NIU's Senior Night promises to be bittersweet for Voigt, Woods
For Christmas, Mikayla Voigt went old school to check off one of the most important names on her gift list.
She made the gift herself.
Voigt wanted to give something extra special to Courtney Woods, her good friend and roommate and teammate.
Voigt and Woods are both senior guards on the Northern Illinois women's basketball team. They were in the same recruiting class. They arrived in DeKalb together. They've lived together throughout their entire college careers.
But they won't finish their basketball careers together.
Voigt is getting ready for NIU's Senior Night, scheduled for Wednesday at the Convocation Center against Ball State. Woods won't take part in the ceremony because she now has one more year of basketball left in DeKalb.
In early December, just before Christmas, Woods blew out her knee, an injury that would be season-ending and give her a redshirt year and fifth year of eligibility next season.
"I am so sad for them," Northern Illinois coach Lisa Carlsen said. "They have done everything together and they wanted to finish their careers together too."
Heartbroken for her friend, and so disappointed that they wouldn't get to ride out into the sunset together, Voigt made a poster board-sized collage of pictures of her and Woods together to commemorate their time together in DeKalb. The poster was titled "100 Games Together," which is how many games the dynamic duo had played for the Huskies before Woods got hurt.
That was Voigt's Christmas present to Woods. Presenting it to Woods was a bittersweet moment for Voigt.
Standing out on the floor on Senior Night without Woods will be the same.
"Over the past four years, Courtney has become one of my best and closest friends," Voigt said. "I miss being on the court with her, especially because the plan at the beginning of the season was to finish it together.
"Even with everything she has gone through, she's still there on the sidelines every day cheering me on and encouraging me."
There has been a lot for Woods to cheer.
Prior to her injury, Woods ranked as one of the top scorers in the Mid-American Conference at about 20 points per game. She was coming off a fabulous junior year in which she was given heavy consideration for MAC player of the year honors. She was in that conversation again at the beginning of this season.
Meanwhile, Voigt, a native of Slinger, Wis., was averaging 13.8 points per game and was a great wing woman for Woods.
When Woods got hurt, Voigt not only stepped up her game, she stepped right into Woods' role. And now Voigt is averaging 20 points per game and has had so many amazing moments that she is now up for MAC player of the year consideration.
In the month of December, with Woods on the bench, Voigt averaged 28.3 points per game, ranked in the top 10 in the nation in scoring and was No. 2 in the nation in made 3-pointers per game with 4 per game.
On December 8, in one of the most memorable games in program history, Voigt poured in 52 points on 11 3-pointers in an 86-61 win over Western Illinois. The 52 points and 11 3-pointers are both NIU and MAC records. Since December, Voigt has scored 20 or more points 11 times and has had three 30-plus games (52, 36 against Brown and 37 against Ball State). In the Huskies' most recent game, a 70-60 win over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, Voigt tallied a game-high 27 points.
"Courtney being out for the season was a huge loss for our team, but the team understands that it's always the 'next player up mentality,' " Voigt said. "I have not tried to do anything different or special but I do understand that with Courtney out, my teammates are looking to me to hit more shots. I think everyone on the team has stepped up and embraced new roles.
"I am very proud of what this team has accomplished so far through adversity. We pride ourselves in mental toughness and determination and I truly believe that is why we have been so resilient. We aren't done yet though, and I know that this team is excited and hungry as we approach the start of the conference tournament."
MAC Madness: Speaking of the MAC conference tournament, Northern Illinois is sitting pretty, having just clinched a first-round home game on March 11 with its win on Wednesday against Eastern Michigan.
The Huskies, who have also dealt with the adversity of losing guard Janae Poisson, a likely starter who was also ruled out for the season when she was having trouble fully recovering from a knee injury from last season, are now 17-10 on the season and 9-6 in the MAC.
After first-round games on campus sites, the MAC tournament moves to Cleveland for three days of games March 13-16.
The winner of the MAC conference tournament will get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The women's NCAA selection show is scheduled for Monday, March 18.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com
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