January 29, 2003

FINAL: NORTHERN ILLINOIS 61, OHIO 60

Box Score

ATHENS, OH---Freshman forward Joi Scott (Reynoldsburg, OH) scored 16 points, including a pair of free throws with 8.1 seconds remaining to lift Northern Illinois past Ohio, 61-60, in Mid-American Conference women's basketball action here Wednesday (Jan. 29).

Scott also hit six of nine shots from the field and Junior forward Jennifer Youngblood (Rock Island) led all scorers with 20 points as the Huskies won their third game in a row, climbing to 8-10 overall and 4-3 in the conference. Latreece Bagley scored all of her team-high 17 points in the second half to pace Ohio, which fell to 5-13 on the season with a 1-6 league mark.

The victory ended an eight-game road losing streak for Northern Illinois, which is 6-2 at home and 1-0 at neutral sites. NIU had not won a road game since the 2001-02 regular-season finale, a 68-51 triumph at Central Michigan on Feb. 26, 2002.

After Bagley missed the second of two free throws with 25 seconds to play, NIU set up for a winning basket. Youngblood broke free but missed a lay-up, and Scott was fouled as she grabbed an offensive rebound. The Ohio native canned both charity tosses, then was in position for the defensive carom as Candace Bates missed a running ten-footer just before the horn.

"Joi was very cool at the line, especially for a freshman," Northern Illinois coach Carol Hammerle said of Scott's decisive tallies. "She is carrying a big load for us right now in the post."

"The free throws were important to help us get a win on the road," Scott noted. "It's good to have some confidence, to know we can come in and get the win. I've been in that situation before, and just had to concentrate."

Ohio used a 9-0 run to take a 41-39 lead on Tiffany Bird's lay-up with ten minutes to play. Rachel Sillar (Ploinfield) ended a 4:53 scoring drought with two free throws on NIU's next possession, starting a seesaw battle the rest of the way. The score was deadlocked at 41, 45, 47, 49 and 51 before Andrea Johnson's jumper gave the Bobcats a 56-53 advantage with 2:23 to play.

Monique Davis (Columbus, OH / Marion-Franklin) connected on a tri-lighter for yet another tie, only to see Andrea Gay sink a free throw to put the hosts back in front. Gay missed the second attempt, but Bagley's putback stretched the gap to three points with one minute remaining. Youngblood's three-pointer at the 34-second mark produced the seventh tie of the half.

"This was a game that could have gone either way," Hammerle said. "Ohio made a run at us, and I feel fortunate to come out of this with a victory. We took a big step tonight. We came in 0-8 on the road, and were missing our two seniors. But the underclassmen came through for us and we got our third straight win. We're starting to develop some confidence, and this shows that if we execute the system, we will win."

Northern Illinois was without seniors Kristan Knake (Marengo) and Kim Boeding (Fort Madison, IA), who both issed the contest due to illness and injury. Knake---who had played in 53 consecutive games before Wednesday---suffered a second-degree sprain in her left ankle during Saturday's (Jan. 25) victory over Marshall, while Boeding sat out her second game in a row due to an inner ear infection.

Davis matched her season-high with ten points while grabbing six rebounds and handing out four assists. Youngblood had a game-high nine rebounds---two more than Scott's total---while logging her second 40-minute complete game in a row. That inside tandem helped the Huskies post a 33-28 rebounding advantage, overcoming 18 turnovers.

.Northern Illinois raced to a 9-2 lead---holding the Bobcats to just a Bates jumper over the first six minutes---and eventually built a ten-point lead as Scott's lay-up stertched the margin to 24-14 with 4:57 to play in the half. The Huskies cruised to a 30-21 halftime advantgage, shooting 52 percent (14-of-27) before the break. The margin remained at 39-32 before OU's flurry to give the hosts the lead.

NIU made just 10 of 26 shots (38.5 percent) in the second half while Ohio used 57 percent (17-of-30) second-half accuracy to get back into contention. OU finished at 49 percent (26-of-53), compared to the 45 percent (24-of-53) mark by Northern Illinois.

The Huskies put their streak on the line when they travel to Bowling Green, OH, for a Saturday (Feb. 1) matinee at Bowling Green State University. A victory in the 1 p.m. (EST) contest would be NIU's fourth in a row, matching the program's longest run since the 1994-95 campaign.

-30- -- Copy by Robert Hester