KENT, Ohio - Trailing by 12 points in the third quarter, the NIU women's basketball team (outscored Kent State (7-9, 1-3 MAC) in the final 10:01 of the game, 32-19, to improve its flawless Mid-American Conference record to 4-0 as the Huskies defeated the Golden Flashes, 98-97. Freshman Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) led the Huskies with 27 points while senior Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) stole a KSU inbounds pass with 2.2 seconds left to seal the victory.

Five Huskies reached double figures for the seventh time this season as the team finished 36-of-64 from the field for a season-best field goal percentage of .563. NIU also closed the night 9-for-20 behind the arc (.450) and 17-of-19 (.895) at the free throw line. 

"We shot the ball really well, especially in the first half, but we made just enough plays  tonight," said Head Coach Lisa Carlsen after the team's fifth-straight victory, "we don't ever get in a situation where we panic if we're down by 10 like we were at the start of the fourth quarter. At the start of the period, we made some big shots. We got enough rebounds and enough stops, and we hit our free throws down the stretch to get a big road win."

The Golden Flashes, who entered the contest with a season scoring average of 67.1, went toe-to-toe with the Huskies style of play as only one point separated the two teams at the end of the first half with KSU holding the edge, 54-53.

Ball movement was key to Northern Illinois' success as it tallied 13 assists in the opening 20 minutes, shooting an astonishing 22-of-31 (.710) in the half.

Finishing the game with 17 lead changes and 14 ties, NIU and Kent State exchanged 12 leads in the half, including 10 in the second quarter alone.

Though NIU hung close with Kent State early in the period, the Golden Flashes appeared to close the period with all the momentum, however, a foul on Poisson with 0.9 seconds left sent the freshman to the free throw line to close the gap to 10 points entering the final frame, 78-68.

The free throws proved to be vital as the Huskies outscored the Golden Flashes 30-19 in the stanza, closing the KSU lead to two possessions with 8:23 left and taking its first lead of the second half with 7:11 remaining in regulation, 83-82.

After swapping four more ties and three leads, the Huskies took their final lead after Poisson hit a jumpshot with 3:51 to tie the game, 87-87, and Cassidy Glenn (New Lenox, Ill./Presbyterian) drained her second three-pointer of the contest 45 seconds later. 

The Golden Flashes pulled within one-point five more times in the final minute, including with 4.4 seconds left after Glenn hit a baseline jumper in front of the NIU bench. After an NIU turnover with 2.2 seconds left, Kent State failed to inbound the ball as Lehman snagged it to clinch the NIU victory.

Glenn led the Huskies' starters with 17 points while Poisson scored 27 points off the bench. Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's Anglican) and Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) each added 14 points while Lehman finished one rebound shy of her 11th double-double of 2016-17 with 15 points and nine rebounds. She also dished eight assists, sharing the lead with Woods, who registered a career-high in the game.

NIU will close the road swing Saturday at Toledo, taking on the Rockets in Savage Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Central. The game will air live on ESPN3.