Feb. 7, 2009

Final Stats

Box Score in PDF Format

KENT, Ohio - The Northern Illinois women's basketball team dropped its inter-divisional game with Kent State, falling to the Golden Flashes, 67-50, in the M.A.C. Center Saturday afternoon.

NIU's (11-11, 6-3) shot a season-low 28.6 percent from the field and its 50 points was the lowest for the Huskies this season since scoring 58 against IUPUI in the season opener Nov. 14, 2008. Northern Illinois was also out-rebounded, 51-36, for the first time since Western Michigan accomplished the feat Jan. 14, 2009.

"I think the thing that's most disappointing is how they outrebounded us," NIU head coach Carol Owens said. "That was partly effort. We worked hard, but we weren't ready to play. We knew it was going to be a tough game going in.

"We've got to bounce back form this. We have to understand that when we don't play with the toughness that we've played with this season, this is the result."

Kent State (16-5, 5-4) had three players finish in double figures with Anna Kowalska leading all scorers with 19 points. Jamilah Humes followed with 17, while Rachel Bennett scored 12 points.

The Huskies got off to a slow start offensively in the first half, setting the tone for the whole game. NIU missed its first five shots to start the game, falling behind 7-0. Becky Smith (Janesville, Wis./Parker) ended the scoring drough, and keyed an 8-0 Huskie run, with NIU's first bucket with 14:48 left in the first half.

Marke Freeman (Springfield, Ill./Lanphier) put NIU up 8-7, its first and only lead of the game, when she hit a jumper with 11:36 left in the first half. Kent State responded with a 10-0 run to take a 17-8 lead with 7:58 left in the half and never looked back.

Kylie York (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) led the way for the Huskies with 13 points. She was 4-of-12 from the field, including 4-for-11 from three-point territory. Freeman also finished in double digits, scoring 12 points off the bench, including a 6-for-6 performance from the free throw line.

Both teams shot poorly in the game. While NIU shot 16-for-56 from the field, a season low in field goals made, Kent State was 19-of-57 from the field, shooting only 33.3 percent for the game. The Golden Flashes did a lot of their damage from the free throw line. KSU went 24-for-33 from the charity stripe, while the Huskies made 14 trips to the free throw line, hitting 11 free throws.

The Huskies return to the court Wednesday night, when Northern Illinois plays host to Miami (OH). Tip-off time is 7 p.m. and fans can follow all the action live on 1360 AM WLBK with Bill Baker on the call. The game will also be available live via Gametracker at www.niuhuskies.com.

-NIU-