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UW 89, NIU 62 

MADISON, Wisconsin - The NIU women's basketball team (4-4) got off to a fast start versus Wisconsin (4-6) Wednesday night, trailing by two points at halftime, 35-33, while shooting 42 percent. The hot shooting Badgers, 18-for-32 (.563), would outscore NIU in the second half, 54-29, to defeat Northern Illinois University, 89-62. UW was 9-for-12 from three in the game.

Sophomore Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) registered her first double-double of the season as she finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Classmate Jazmine Harris (West Allis, Wis./Heritage Christian) led the Huskies with 12 points.

"I don't think we had the defensive pressure and intensity in the second half that we did in the first half. We let a good team get comfortable offensively shooting the basketball and giving them what they want and that's hard to slow down," said Head Coach Lisa Carlsen. "We came out of the locker room at the start of the game care-free, loose and with a lot of energy and confidence. After (Wisconsin) got a couple of baskets at the start of the second half, I felt like we lost a bit of confidence, second guessing what we were doing and that's what made us soft and hesitant."

The Huskies stepped into the Kohl Center unfazed as they accounted for six-second chance points before the first media timeout and Cassidy Glenn (New Lenox, Ill./Providence Catholic) recorded two blocks.

Glenn's six points, two blocks and two offensive boards fueled the NIU bench and the players on the court as the Huskies built a a pair of five point leads in the opening frame. NIU would finish the first quarter with eight second chance points, out rebounding the Badgers, 11-10, and trailing by only two points, 19-17.

Northern Illinois University opened the second quarter with the same energy as it opened on a 12-7 run with 4:55 left. Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) was a large part of the Huskies success - pulling up and shooting, and attacking the basket to get to the free throw line. The freshman closed the period with seven points, complimenting Glenn's nine first half points.

Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) took the last shot of the first half as Coach Carlsen drew up a play after calling a timeout with 20.3 seconds left. The Huskies attacked the paint, where it scored 18 points of its 33 in the first half, and kicked to the baseline corner behind the arc where Lehman was waiting unguarded. The junior's final attempt went in and out of the hoop and the Huskies entered the halftime locker room down by two, 35-33. The junior finished the game with nine points and seven boards.

The Badgers were the aggressor after the intermission as they scored 14 points in the first five minutes of the quarter and closed with 22 points in the final five to outscore the Huskies, 36-11. A perfect 4-for-4 performance behind the arc paced Wisconsin's offense in the third. Nicole Bauman was large part of that, shooting 5-for-5 behind the arc to finish with 19 points. Five Badgers scored in double figures.

Each team's bench accounted for 20 points while the Huskies led in fast break points, 6-2, and second chance points, 13-10.

Harris accounted for eight of NIU's 29 points in the second half as she closed with 12 to lead the team on 5-of-15 shooting. Smith registered her first double-double of the season and the third of her career as she closed with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Voigt reached double-figures for the fourth-straight game, closing the night with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

Northern Illinois University closed the game with a shooting clip of 25-for-71, registering a percentage of .424 (14-for-33) in the first two quarters.

The Huskies will return to action Saturday, Dec. 19 when it takes on Drake at the NIU Convocation Center. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m.