Dec. 18, 2008
Final Stats
Box Score in PDF Format 
CHICAGO – Despite three players scoring in double figures, the Northern Illinois women’s basketball team dropped an 83-70 decision to DePaul, Thursday at McGrath Arena.
“It hurts to lose, but I saw progress tonight,” NIU head coach Carol Owens said. “Progress was what this team needed.”
Poor shooting plagued both teams in the early going, as they combined to hit just 14-of-40 attempts (35 percent) in the opening 10 minutes. The drought left the Huskies (3-7) down 20-19, just a point behind their Big East foe. But the Blue Demons (10-2) heated up, hitting seven of their next 10 shots to built a 39-23 lead with 5:34 left in the first half.
Becky Smith answered the call by hitting the Huskies’ first three-pointer of the game, sparking a 10-4 Huskie run that brought NIU with 10, 43-33 at halftime.
The Huskie defense started the second half in top form, forcing five DePaul turnovers in the first four minutes of the period. But NIU’s rough shooting night continued, as the Huskies went 2-of-7 from the field over the same timeframe.
Northern Illinois’ top-two sharpshooters, Kylie York and Jessie Wilcox, combined to go 4-for-17 from behind the arc, with all four makes coming in the second half.
“I’m confident when they shoot the ball that they’ll hit those shots any other time,” Owens said.
As a team, the Huskies shot 37.5 percent (27-for-72) from the field, and just 25 percent (5-for-20) on threes.
“We had similar turnovers, we got to the free throw line, we out-rebounded them, but the one statistic that sticks out is hitting shots,” Owens said. The Blue Demons converted 47 percent (31-of-66) of their field goal tries.
Despite the difficult night from the three-point line, Wilcox led the Huskies with 12 points, and York chipped in 10. Forward Becky Smith also hit double-figures, pouring in 11 on 4-of-7 shooting.
NIU returns home to play game one of a Huskie double-header, taking on Illinois Chicago at 2 p.m. in the Convocation Center. Following that game, the Northern Illinois men’s team takes the court to battle Loyola-Chicago at 5 p.m.
