Final Stats

DeKALB – Sophomore Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) and freshman Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's Anglican School) each scored 22 points as the Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team posted an 86-54 exhibition victory over Saint Francis (Ill.) on Saturday afternoon at the NIU Convocation Center in new head coach Lisa Carlsen’s unofficial Huskie debut.

Smith also grabbed 14 rebounds on her way to a double-double as NIU shot 50.7 percent from the field (34-of-67), including 53.8 percent from three (7-of-13) while stifling the Saints to just 27.3 percent shooting (18-of-66) in the contest.

“I liked what we did on the floor,” said Carlsen. “I thought we played how I want us to continue to play. The first half was tight for a while, but I think we were able to wear Saint Francis out, and that is something that we have talked a lot about, making sure that we are in better condition than our opponent and seeing if that doesn’t pay dividends at the end of the game.”

The Huskies new fast-paced, aggressive offensive style proved fruitful in the first quarter as they were 8-of-17 (.471) from the floor, making eight trips to line and converting six, while holding a 22-17 lead after the opening 10 minutes.

The run-and-gun style took hold in the start of the second quarter as the Huskies opened with three-straight fast break layups off the in-bound passes to take a 28-19 lead with 8:43 left in the half.

NIU finished the first half with a shooting percentage of .490, converting 17-of-35 shots taken. Smith paced the Huskies in the opening half with 17 points and nine rebounds as NIU led, 43-36 at the break.

Smith recorded a double-double early in the second half, grabbing an offensive rebound and dishing the ball off to freshman MiKayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran), who sank a three-pointer to put the Huskies up 48-41.

The NIU defense limited the Saints to 12 points in the third quarter, while Huskies widened their lead to 15 points, 63-48.

Junior Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) and Woods surpassed the 10-point plateau in the third as each player finished with 13 points through three periods. Lehman finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Voigt was NIU’s fourth player in double figures with 14 points.

In the final period, the Huskies had their strongest offensive and defensive performances of the afternoon, scoring 23 while limiting the Saints to just six points.

The Huskie defense held Saint Francis to just 17.6 percent shooting in the second half, as the Saints went 6-of-34 from the field.

Saint Francis was led by 17 points and seven rebounds from Charnelle Reed, Kamari Jordan added 12 points for the Saints.

NIU will open the 2015-16 regular season on Friday, Nov. 13, as Huskies travel to south to take on SIU Edwardsville. Game time against the Cougars is slated for 5:30 p.m. CT.