TRUJILLO ALTO, PUERTO RICO ­– A torrid shooting effort in the fourth quarter helped propel the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team (8-2) to an 84-76 win over Sacramento State (2-9) in its first game of the 2017 Puerto Rico Classic at the Coliseo Ruben Zayas Montanez Wednesday.
 
The win over the Hornets is NIU's fourth straight and gives the Huskies their best start since 1993-94 when NIU opened the season with a 10-2 record.
 
NIU shot 58.3 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and 45.5 percent on the night with four Huskies finishing in double figures. Junior Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's Anglican School) and senior forward Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) each finished with a team-high 20 points.
 
Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) and Paulina Castro (Elgin, Ill./Harvest Christian) provided the pop from beyond the arc, combining to go 9-of-14 from three-point territory and finish with 19 and 12 points, respectively. Castro's 12 points was a career high with all her points coming from three-point land.  
 
With the score tied, 10-10 with 5:42 left in the first quarter Castro came off the bench to hit a three and key a 12-2 run by the Huskies the next three minutes. Her three of the game with 5:32 left in the second quarter sparked an 8-0 run by NIU.
 
Four of Voigt's five three-pointers in the game came in the first half as she led NIU with 12 points and helped give the Huskies a 42-31 halftime lead.
 
Woods kept the long-range scoring theme going in the second half as the Huskie forward hit three-straight threes early in the third quarter to help push NIU's lead to its largest lead of the game, 17, with 7:42 left in the quarter.
 
"It was great to see her have that stretch where she got hot," said NIU head coach Lisa Carlsen. "We were really able to stretch the lead because of that."
 
Sacramento State made a charge early in the fourth as Maranne Johnson, who led all scorers with 29 points, hit three-consecutive threes to open the quarter to help close the Huskie lead to seven. However, NIU called a timeout and Voigt restored order with her final three of the game on the Huskies' first possession after the timeout, while two free throws from Myia Starks (Oswego, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and a Smith free throw pushed the Huskie lead back to 11.
 
"I thought we had a good situations where we were able to make key buckets when they were making a run," Carlsen said. "I also didn't think we did a good job of extending the lead when we had opportunities. I think we can learn from both of those situations."
 
The Huskies fended off one last late charge by Sacramento State and a pair of Georgia Breunig (Sauk Prairie, Wis./Sauk Prairie) free throws sealed the win for NIU.
 
The Huskies conclude play in the 2017 Puerto Rico Classic when NIU takes on Albany tomorrow. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. CT. Fans can listen to all the action live on 1360 AM WLBK or watch it on Facebook Live via Asi van los Deportes.
 
-NIU-