Jan. 3, 2011

Box Score | Box Score 

ISU 73, NIU 51 Convocation Center | DeKalb, Ill.

1st 2nd Final  Illinois State 41 32 73  Northern Illinois 19 32 51 Box Score | Box Score  Attendance: 535  Player of the Game Danielle Pulliam Points: 15 Rebounds: 3 Assists: 1 FG: 6-7 (.857)  Team Stats NIU OPP  FG Percentage 33.3 48.1  3-Point FG Percentage 36.4 50.0  FT Percentage 68.8 94.4  Offensive Rebounds 10 9  Defensive Rebounds 18 28  Total Rebounds 28 37  Assists 6 8  Turnovers 13 13  Blocks 2 6  Steals 9 8  Points in the Paint 24 22  Points off Turnovers 16 23  Women's Basketball Quick Links · NIU Women's Hoops on Facebook · 2010-11 Schedule/Results · 2010-11 Statistics · Head Coach Kathi Bennett

 

DeKALB, Ill. - Freshman Danielle Pulliam scored a career-high 15 points, all in the second half, but her offensive burst could not save the Northern Illinois women's basketball team from a slow start in a 73-51 loss to Illinois State, Monday at the Convocation Center.

The Huskies finished their non-conference slate with a 6-7 record, an impressive feat considering NIU played only three of those games at home. Illinois State improved to 10-3, with its fourth consecutive victory.

Senior Marke Freeman led the Huskies with 16 points, and now stands just 10 points short of becoming the 26th NIU player to reach 1,000 career points. Freeman, the Mid-American Conference's leading three-point shooter, went 3-of-3 from deep, and has now hit half of her 54 three-point tries this year.

The Redbirds jumped out to an early 11-0 lead, holding NIU scoreless over the first five minutes of the game before Ebony Ellis hit a lay-up at the 15:01 mark. The Huskies finished the half shooting just 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) from the field, while Illinois State connected on 14-of-30 (46.7 percent) attempts, including five three-pointers.

"Offensively, we took bad shots, didn't have movement, and came out a little flat, which really surprised me," NIU head coach Kathi Bennett said. "I didn't think our defense was that bad... in the first half."

NIU trailed 41-19 at halftime, but bounced back in the second half to match Illinois State point-for-point. The Huskies shot 46.2 percent in the second, helped by 6-of-7 shooting by Pulliam. NIU held ISU to just 32 second-half points.

"I felt in the second half we played with a sense of urgency," Bennett said. "We played with what we wanted from the beginning."

The Huskies return to action Wednesday for their conference opener against Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center.