Final Stats

UT 66, NIU 59 

TOLEDO, Ohio - The NIU women’s basketball team (8-8, 1-4 MAC) overcame a 14-point first quarter deficit, biting at Toledo’s (9-7, 4-1 MAC) heels and battling for the remainder of the game. Despite solid defense behind them, the Huskies weren’t able to ground the Rockets as they fell at Savage Arena, 66-59.

All nine Huskies scored in the contest, led by Kelly Smith’s (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) was close behind Smith as she registered 14 points and 11 rebounds in her ninth double-double of the season.

NIU outrebounded Toledo, 46-43, including 13-7 on the offensive glass but UT’s efficient shooting, 27-for-60 (.450) carried the Rockets in the contest.

“I was proud of the way we played and I thought we fought hard and that’s something we didn’t do the other night. From that standpoint, I think the team gave me all they had tonight because we had our opportunities but we weren’t able to make shots in key situations,” said Head Coach Lisa Carlsen.

Lehman came out firing for the Huskies, going 3-of-4 from the field in the first seven minutes of the game to lead NIU with seven points. However, the Rockets fired away as it was eight for its first 11 from the field with four three-pointers to lead 20-9 with 3:07 left. The NIU defense stepped up in the final three minutes as it recorded four-straight stops at the end of the period to trail Toledo, 23-11.

The stops would continue as the Huskies went a 6:00, 16-3 run with three-pointers from Lehman, Ally May (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) and Georgia Breunig (Sauk Prairie, Wis./Sauk Prairie) to lift NIU within one point, 23-22, after a UT timeout with 6:36 left in the half.

Back-to-back jumpers by Amber Gray (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) lifted the Huskies from a six-point deficit with 1:05 left, 28-26, but consecutive hustle plays by Toledo led to four points in the final to give the Rockets six-point lead at halftime, 32-26.

Lehman led the Huskies across the board with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists and while she led the team, the Huskies had six of nine players scored in the first half. NIU outscored UT in the second quarter, 15-9.

Smith stepped up for NIU in the third quarter, closing the stanza with 11 points to increase her total to 13 in the game. She also pulled down a crucial offensive rebound in the period, setting up a second chance basket by Jazmine Harris (West Allis, Wis./Heritage Christian) to put NIU within three points with 4:38 remaining, 40-37. Harris closed the day with four points and eight boards.

With each team scoring 17 points in the third, the Rockets would go on to lead the Huskies entering the fourth period, 49-43.

Toledo would start the fourth on a 10-2 run to again build a 14-point lead, 59-45, until Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret’s Anglican) and Smith each hit two free throws before the final media timeout to bring NIU back within 10 with 4:59 left, 59-49.

Trailing by seven points with under two minutes left, 63-56, the Huskies recorded three stops, two of which came with less than 50 seconds left, but Northern Illinois University missed five shots until Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) hit a three-pointer with 12.4 seconds left put NIU within five points, 64-59.

A pair of free throws by Brenae Harris, who finished the game with 17 points, with 5.6 seconds left would be the final points of the game as the Rockets won, 66-59.

“Not that I’m here for moral victories, but I was ver proud of the way our team played tonight. We were beaten by a good basketball team with a lot of great pieces and I think that was probably the difference,” Carlsen added. “We needed to shoot better if we wanted to win tonight. I thought we did a great job on the glass tonight. I think the way we battled showed this team has a lot of heart.”

Woods finished the game with eight points to lead the bench while Gray scored four points and brought down a career-high five rebounds in her first start of the season.

NIU will return to action Wednesday, Jan. 20 when it hosts Bowling Green at the NIU Convocation Center, the first of two home games for the Huskies. Tipoff Wednesday is set for 7 p.m. Central. The game will air live on ESPN3.

Mini-plans for NIU men’s and women’s basketball are available now and are a great way to catch the Huskies the remainder of the season. Fans can purchase tickets to any remaining six Huskie women’s basketball games for just $24.

For more information, call the NIU Athletic Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225) or log on to NIUHuskies.com/tickets.