Feb. 12, 2011
Box Score | Box Score
NIU 61, Buffalo 53 (OT)
Alumni Arena | Buffalo, N.Y.
|
|
|
1st |
2nd |
OT |
Final |
Northern Illinois
|
21
|
28
|
12 |
61
|
| Buffalo |
25
|
24
|
4 |
53
|
|
|
|
| Player of the Game |
 |
Marke Freeman
Points: 18
Rebounds: 9
Assists: 4
Steals: 4
|
|
Team Stats
|
NIU |
OPP |
FG Percentage
|
37.5
|
33.9
|
| 3-Point FG Percentage |
36.4
|
30.0
|
| FT Percentage |
93.8
|
71.4
|
Offensive Rebounds
|
12
|
13
|
| Defensive Rebounds |
29
|
23
|
| Total Rebounds |
41
|
36
|
Assists
|
17
|
10
|
Turnovers
|
16
|
15
|
Blocks
|
2
|
7
|
Steals
|
7
|
6
|
Points in the Paint
|
24
|
20
|
Points Off Turnovers
|
14
|
11
|
| Second Chance Points |
6 |
16 |
|
|
| |
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Northern Illinois women's basketball team utilized a balanced attack and a never-say-die attitude to beat Buffalo, 61-53, in overtime Saturday at Alumni Arena.
With her team down 49-46 and six seconds left in regulation, senior Marke Freeman was fouled on a three-pointer and hit all three free throw attempts to send the game to overtime.
"You talk about our seniors coming through at the end, that was awesome," NIU head coach Kathi Bennett said of Freeman's clutch free throws.
To open the extra session, senior Ebony Ellis hit a pair of lay-ups to give NIU a four-point lead. NIU's stifling defense held Buffalo to 2-of-7 shooting in OT and the Huskies hit eight consecutive free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
NIU improved to 10-14, 4-7 in Mid-American Conference play. Buffalo fell to 13-11, 6-5 in league games.
The back-and-forth affair saw five ties and 13 lead changes. The momentum belonged to whichever team controlled the glass, and the Huskies outboarded Buffalo 24-10 after halftime to overcome a five-point deficit. NIU seemed to get stronger on the boards as the game progress, outrebounding UB 8-0 in overtime.
"You could see it in their eyes that they wanted it," Bennett said. "It was a heart win."
Freeman scored 11 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, and added nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. Sophomore Kim Davis did the bulk of the scoring in the first half, leading the Huskies with 10 and finishing with 14. Ellis tallied six points in the overtime period and finished with 10.
Northern Illinois held an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting for the 11th time this season. The Bulls went 21-of-62 (33.9 percent) from the field. Early on, Buffalo hurt NIU from deep, connecting on five first-half three-pointers. But after half the Bulls went just 1-of-9 on triples.
With the win, NIU matched both its overall and conference win totals from last season. The Huskies return to action Feb. 16 at 7 p.m., when they host Central Michigan at the Convocation Center.
