Final Stats

BSU 76, NIU 68 

MUNCIE, Ind. - Led by career nights from Cassidy Glenn (New Lenox, Ill./Presbyterian) and Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret’s Anglican), NIU (11-17, 4-13 MAC) shot an efficient 28-for-57 (49.1 percent) against Ball State (20-8, 12-5 MAC), poised to upset a top-four team in the Mid-American Conference. However, the Huskies found themselves in foul trouble at Worthen Arena and fell to the Cardinals, 76-68.

The two teams traded 10 ties and five leads in the game with Ball State taking the final lead with 2:23 remaining. BSU shot 17-of-19 from the foul line.

Glenn scored a career-high 23 points as she went 10-of-15 from the field, including a 3-for-7 clip behind the three-point line, while Woods reached 21 points for the third time in the last four games to tie her career-best. Woods made a season-best eight field goals. Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) recorded 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists as the Huskies dished 18 helpers.

“I think we did a good job of executing the game plan tonight. We talked about Bal;l State’s size and length being an issue and so we challenged a couple of their players. I was really proud of the way the kids came out and did what we asked them to do,” said Head Coach Lisa Carlsen.

“We shot the ball well, especially in the first half but I think their size was the biggest difference tonight, especially on the offensive glass in the fourth quarter that allowed them second chance opportunities, but I’m proud of our effort. With efforts like that night in and night out, hopefully, we can extend our season as long as possible,” Carlsen added.

NIU opened the first period shooting 9-for-18 from the field, paced by Woods seven points in the quarter. Both teams exchanged seven ties and three leads with Ball State leading after 10 minutes of action, 20-19, as Nathalie Fontaine tied it up with 7.9 seconds left on a jump shot and put the Cardinals on top on a follow-up free throw.

After opening 1-of-4 behind the arc, the Huskies began bombing from deep as it went 5-of-6 in the second quarter from three as Glenn hit three, and Woods and Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) each hit one to put the offense in motion. NIU would lead by as much as 12 points in the period as it went on a 10-2 run.

Northern Illinois University would enter the halftime locker room with an eight-point edge, 42-34, as Glenn led the Huskies with 17 points. Woods complimented the junior with 12 points. Shooting 18-of-30 in the opening 20 minutes, NIU tallied 11 assists as Lehman had six helpers and Lacia Gorman (Fort Wayne, Ind./Wisconsin) dished three. Gorman would finish with five in the game.

The two squads shored up their defenses after the break as both teams combined for 29 points in the period while both shooting 31 percent. The Huskies would retain their lead at the end of the quarter, 54-51.

The Cardinals opened the period on a 5-2 run as the two teams tied for the 10th time in the game with 6:34 left in regulation. Glenn put NIU back on top on with 5:44 left as she hit her ninth field goal of the game to reach 21 points in the game, 58-56.

The Huskies extended their lead to three with 3:21 left, 63-60, but a 9-0 run by Cardinals over the next two minutes would put Ball State back in charge, 69-63. The Huskies did not acquiesce as Woods hit a trey with NIU down by seven to bring NIU within two baskets of the win with 18.2 left.

With NIU refusing to foul with 5.3 seconds left, Ball State’s Fontaine took the final inbounds pass and sprinted down the court to kiss a layup off the glass at a buzzer, giving her 23 points in the game to set BSU’s all-time scoring mark at 2,092 points.

The Huskies will close the regular season Saturday afternoon, hosting Western Michigan at the Convocation Center. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN3. NIU will honor Gorman and Natecia Augusta before the game in Senior Day ceremonies.