Northern Illinois: Lisa Carlsen named head coach

Lisa Carlsen, who spent the last eight seasons at Lewis University, was introduced as Northern Illinois University’s tenth women’s basketball head coach on Tuesday.  She replaces Kathi Bennett who resigned in April. Bennett compiled a record of 57-93 in five seasons at NIU.

“I’m excited for this opportunity to work with the NIU family and the Huskie basketball program,” said Carlsen. “It was clear to me on my visit that NIU has a real chance to elevate itself to the next level. I want to thank director of athletics Sean T. Frazier for allowing me this wonderful opportunity to coach at Northern Illinois University. This is a great move for my family and I look forward to getting to work with this current team and instilling the expectation of competing for, and winning, Mid-American Conference Championships.”

In eight seasons at Lewis, Carlsen guided the team to a 148-89 record, four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and two Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) championships. This past season, Lewis posted a 31-3 record and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Carlsen was honored as the 2015 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II National Coach of the Year. The Flyers started the season on a 23-game winning streak and spent five weeks ranked number one in the nation. Along with earning national coach of the year honors, Carlsen was also named GLVC Coach of the Year and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Women’s Collegiate Coach of the Year.