CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - NIU women’s basketball did not allow Northern Iowa to score a field goal in the final 9:45 of the game. The Huskies’ (3-6) held the Panthers (4-6) under 60 points, marking the sixth-straight game NIU has accomplished the feat but NIU fell, 51-42.

NIU’s Jenna Thorp (Hinckley, Ill./Hinckley-Big Rock) led the Huskies with a season-high 13 points and added seven rebounds while Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) grabbed eight boards with five points and three assists. Renee Sladek (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) and Kelly Smith (Arrowhead, Wis./Hartland) both contributed eight points.

“We were out of sync tonight offensively. We passed up some wide open looks and drove into the defense and it’s really a shame because we did what we could on the defensive side of things. We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities offensively and at some point that has to change,” said Head Coach Kathi Bennett.

“Northern Iowa is a really good ball club and we fought with them tooth and nail. We just missed our opportunities to get a win and we’ll look to clean that up after break,” added Bennett.

In a defensive first half of basketball, both NIU and UNI accounted for eight field goals apiece and combined for 10 turnovers. The Panthers carried a 23-16 lead at halftime as they made four shots behind the arc and three baskets at the charity stripe. 

NIU out rebounded UNI in the half, 20-19, and accounted for five assists on its eight baskets. Thorp was the Huskies top-scorer in the period as she scored six points, starting the game 3-for-3 from the field. Smith added four points.

The second half opened as a wide open affair as the Huskies were 6-of-7 shooting in the opening four minutes of the stanza while the Panthers were 4-of-7. Only NIU continued that hot shooting trend as it was 11-of-22 in the final 20 minutes of the contest while UNI was 8-for-25.

After the wide open four minutes, the Huskies and Panthers defense tightened back up, highlighted by Northern Illinois University’s final 9:45 of stellar play in which NIU did not allow a single field goal.

In that span, Northern Iowa missed its final 11 shots, however, the Panthers were 10-of-15 from the free throw line in the half to hold their lead over NIU.

At game’s end, the Huskies made three more field goals than the Panthers, 19-16, and grabbed one more board than UNI, 37-36. Both Thorp and Sladek made three baskets in the stanza as the redshirt senior pacing NIU in the half with seven points.

The Hinckley, Ill., native finished the afternoon with 13 points and seven rebounds, going a season-best 6-of-9 from the field. The six baskets tied her career-high set versus Central Michigan on Feb. 22, 2014. UNI's Jordan Weekly scored 13 points to lead the Panthers.

The Huskies will take a break for Christmas before returning to the hardwood on Dec. 30 at Bradley. NIU and the Braves will tipoff at 7 p.m.