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Nabal Jefferson, Amanda Corral collect honors, duo sweeps weekly MAC scholar-athlete awards

December 6, 2012
Amanda Corral

Amanda Corral

Northern Illinois’ Nabal Jefferson and Amanda Corral were named Mid-American Conference Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Week, the league office announced Thursday.

The pair were the third and fourth Huskies to win the honor in 2012-13, joining MacKenzie Roddy (Oct. 4) and Mike Mascitti (Nov. 15).

Jefferson was instrumental in Northern Illinois’ 44-37 double-overtime win over then-No. 17 Kent State in the Marathon MAC Championship Game at Detroit’s Ford Field, propelling the Huskies to a Discover Orange Bowl berth.

The senior led the team with nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss.

Additionally, Jefferson anchored an NIU defensive line that limited prolific KSU running backs Dri Archer and Trayion Durham to a combined 87 yards rushing, while holding the Golden Flashes to only 70 yards on the ground the entire night.

Nabal Jefferson

Nabal Jefferson

The Chicago native was also named one of the National Football Foundation’s National Scholar-Athletes in 2012 and was present at Tuesday’s awards ceremony in New York City.

Jefferson, a senior from Chicago, has a 3.78 GPA in accountancy. This marks the second consecutive season that the Huskie defensive tackle won the honor.

Meanwhile, Corral returned from an ankle injury that sidelined her for most of the last two games in a huge way.

She scored 19 points, pulled down four rebounds and had an assist and a block to guide NIU to its first home win of the season – a 67-63 decision over Loyola. She was 6-for-13 from the field, 2-for-5 on three pointers and 5-for-6 from the foul line, including going 4-for-4 in the last 60 seconds of the game to seal the win. Her 19-point performance was a season-high total and two shy of a career high.

Corral boasts a 4.0 GPA in health sciences. The conference honor is the first for the sophomore from Hobart, Ind.

For more information on NIU football, NIU women’s basketball and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.