Dec. 28, 2010
Box Score | Box Score 
NIU 70, Loyola 59
Convocation Center | DeKalb, Ill.
|
|
|
1st |
2nd |
Final |
Northern Illinois
|
33 |
37 |
70 |
Loyola
|
28 |
31 |
59 |
|
|
|
| Player of the Game |
 |
Marke Freeman
Points: 25
Rebounds: 12
Assists: 3
FG: 7-14 (.500)
|
|
Team Stats
|
NIU |
OPP |
FG Percentage
|
42.6 |
40.4 |
| 3-Point FG Percentage |
39.1 |
37.5 |
| FT Percentage |
75.0 |
50.0 |
Offensive Rebounds
|
14 |
10 |
| Defensive Rebounds |
26 |
21 |
| Total Rebounds |
40 |
31 |
Assists
|
13 |
11 |
Turnovers
|
13 |
14 |
Blocks
|
1 |
4 |
Steals
|
8 |
7 |
Points in the Paint
|
24 |
18 |
Points off Turnovers
|
17 |
15 |
|
|
| |
DEKALB, Ill.- Senior Marke Freeman delivered 25 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, helping the Northern Illinois women's basketball team to a 70-59 victory over Loyola, Tuesday, in the first women's hoops game at the Convocation Center in over a month.
The Huskies (6-6) led the Ramblers (6-5) 60-56 with 2:39 left after a layup by Loyola's Katie Kortekamp. With three seconds on the shot clock on the ensuing possession, freshman Ashley Sneed's missed lay-up hit only the backboard. Ebony Ellis grabbed the offensive rebound and scored the put back as the shot clock buzzer to put NIU up by six.
Ellis rebounded a missed three-pointer by Kortekamp on the next possession and was fouled moments later. She hit both free throws to give the Huskies a 64-56 advantage. Freeman would add a pair of free throws on the Huskies' next trip down the court, giving NIU a 10-point lead that it rode to victory.
"Over those last parts of the game, I thought we really came together as a team," NIU head coach Kathi Bennett said. "It may sound cheesy, but I really thought we played together, moved the ball well, and that was the difference."
Freeman had a hot hand from the start. NIU's first three field goals were three-pointers by the Springfield, Ill. native. Sophomore Brittney Callahan, who made her first career start, stuck a triple and Freeman added a jumper as NIU leapt out to a 16-3 lead.
Led by four treys from Freeman, the Huskies went 6-of-11 on threes in the first half, a barrage that helped the Huskies open up a 14-point lead. Northern Illinois led 30-16 after a Courtney Shelton three, but Loyola punctuated the half with a 12-3 run to close the gap to 33-28 at the break.
The Ramblers continued to gain on NIU in the second, using an 8-0 run out of the locker room to take a 36-35 lead. Shelton kicked off a 9-4 spurt with a three-pointer and Freeman finished it with a trey of her own to put Northern Illinois back on top 44-40. Loyola's Monica Albano answered with three-pointers on back-to-back Loyola possessions to tie the game at 46.
Sophomore Kim Davis scored four points, keying an 8-0 Huskie run over the next two minutes. Albano retaliated by scoring five of her team-high 17 points to help the Ramblers clawed back to within four at 60-56 before the Huskies 6-0 spurt put the game out of reach.
Davis finished the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds, her first double-double as a Huskie. Ellis scored 14 and added five rebounds, bringing her career total to 703, 12th most in NIU history. For Loyola, Abby Skube joined Albano in double-figures with 15.
The Huskies tip-off 2011 against Illinois State, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
