BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – After a strong offensive start and great resolve at the free throw line in the final minutes against Bowling Green (4-10, 0-2 MAC), the NIU women's basketball team (9-4, 2-0 MAC) won its third-straight game Wednesday night to register the program's first 2-0 conference start since 2005 as the Huskies defeated the Falcons, 89-75.
The victory was the program's first-ever at the Stroh Center and the first on the road at Bowling Green since 2004. Five Huskies finished in double figures, paced by
Ally Lehman's (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) ninth double-double of the season with 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) led the Huskies bench with 17 points as the reserves outscored the Falcons, 25-12.
The BGSU defense did its best to stymie the NIU offense as they held the Huskies to 22 points in the period and only allowed two three-point field goals in the opening period.
Cassidy Glenn (New Lenox, Ill./Presbyterian) jump started the NIU offense as she scored the first eight points of the game for the Huskies.
The NIU advantage was at seven after the first 10 minutes of play, 22-14, however, the Huskies ability to pressure the Falcons ball handlers (10 turnovers) and knack for hitting key shots (three treys on fast breaks), Northern Illinois built a 20-point lead in the closing minutes of the half, outscoring Bowling Green in the stanza, 24-10, to lead 46-24 at halftime.
Woods led NIU with 14 points in the half, going 4-of-8 behind the arc, while the team registered 14 assists on 19 baskets.
Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) led the team with five helpers in the half. Defensively, NIU held BGSU to 25 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes and 0-of-12 behind the three-point line.
The Falcons would not go quietly, however, as they opened the third quarter on a 16-4 run to close the gap to eight points, 48-40, with 5:22 left.
After Head Coach
Lisa Carlsen called a timeout, the break allowed NIU to trade baskets with BGSU and enter the final quarter with a six-point edge, 56-50. The Huskies offense was at their best in the frame, reclaiming its double-digit lead (16) from the field and solidifying the victory with a 17-for-20 effort at the free throw line in the final period alone. NIU outscored Bowling Green in the final quarter, 33-26.
Lehman was the primary taker at the charity stripe, going 10-for-12 with eight-consecutive makes at the line to end the contest. BG closed the second half with a 20-for-41 clip from the field in the second half (.487).
"It's never going to be easy," said Carlsen, "we obviously played well, especially in the second quarter and gave ourselves a little bit of a lead heading into halftime but there was no doubt that Bowling Green was going to come out and make a run and they obviously did that.
"I was proud of the way we finished and the way we hit those free throws. That's what we're going to have to do on the road (to win games)," she added.
Glenn finished with 12 points while Woods and
Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) finished with 16 and 11 points, respectively.
The Huskies will return to action on Saturday when it hosts Ohio at the NIU Convocation Center in a doubleheader with the NIU men's team. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Central.
