Jan. 31, 2009

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DEKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball dropped a heartbreaker, falling to Bowling Green, 76-70, in overtime Saturday afternoon in the Convocation Center.

"A game like this stings," NIU head coach Carol Owens said. "This is the best we've ever played against Bowling Green but we're not satisfied with that. We expected to win the game. We've gotten better every game in the MAC and we've got to take this back and use it to get better."

Both teams entered play in first place in their respective divisions, with the Huskies (10-10, 5-2) owning a share of the lead in the MAC West, while Bowling Green (18-2, 7-0) entered play atop the MAC East and riding a 17-game winning streak. The game more than lived up to the billing.

Trailing 62-60 with 38 seconds left in regulation, Bowling Green's Tracy Pontius hit a three pointer to give the Falcons a one point lead with 20 seconds left to play. Bowling Green had a chance to add to its lead when Niki McCoy was fouled after forcing an NIU turnover. However, McCoy missed her free throw and Mauvolyene Adams (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) was fouled in the scramble for the rebound, sending her to the free throw line for a one-and-one.

Adams hit the first free throw, to tie the contest at 63 with 10 seconds left to play. Her second attempt failed to fall, giving the Falcons enough time to move the ball up court for one last shot. Pontius' layup missed, and the game was sent into overtime. It was the fourth overtime game for the Huskies this season, a school record, with all four taking place at home.

The Falcons opened overtime with a 7-2 run, jumping out to a 70-65 lead with 2:39 left to play. A jumper by Jessie Wilcox (Oshkosh, Wis./West) with 1:17 left pulled NIU to within three, but that would be as close as the Huskies would get as Bowling Green was able to hold on for the victory.

Wilcox finished with a team-high 19 points, leading four Huskies who finished in double figures. Adams turned in her best game of the season, scoring a season-high 15 points, going 7-for-13 from the field. Ebony Ellis (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Township) posted her second-straight double-double and seventh of her career, finishing with 14 points and a game-high 12 boards. Marke Freeman (Springfield, Ill./Lanphier) rounded out the quartet with 10 points.

The Falcons had three players finish in double figures with Pontius leading all scorers with 31 points. She was 8-for-15 from the field, hitting 5-of-7 from three-point territory. As a team, Bowling Green shot 25-of-60 from the field, including 12-23 from three-point land.

The Huskies won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Falcons, 51-34. It was NIU's highest rebounding total since grabbing 52 at Northern Iowa earlier this season.

NIU returns to the Convocation Center Wednesday night to play host to the University of Akron. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. CST. For tickets, contact the NIU ticket office at 815-752-6800 or log on to www.niuhuskies.com. Fans can follow all the action with Andy Garcia on 1360 AM WLBK and via Gametracker at www.niuhuskies.com.

-NIU-