DeKALB - In potentially her final game at the NIU Convocation Center, senior Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) followed the "leave it all out on the floor" mantra Wednesday night as No. 31 went for 31 points without rest on the bench. 

Lehman pulled down 16 rebounds for her program record tying 16th double-double of the season while dishing nine assists-or-more for the ninth time, however, the effort was not enough as the Huskies lost the battle of the boards to Toledo (20-8, 11-6 MAC) to fall, 79-75.

"Obviously we're not thrilled with the outcome. That was two really good teams that battled hard for 40 minutes," said Head Coach Lisa Carlsen. "It seemed like we didn't really find our rhythm on the offensive end in the second half. Credit Toledo because they're a really good defensive team, but at the end of the day, we can't give up 25 offensive boards. We needed to do a better job of rebounding the basketball."

The Huskies, who outrebounded Toledo in the opening frame, 17-10, trailed 11-7 with 3:15 remaining in the quarter, however, a layup by Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) with 2:25 left was the start of a 15-0 run in the final two and half minutes. The run, which was highlighted by back-to-back-to-back treys by Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's Anglican School) and Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) forced two Toledo timeouts and put NIU on top by 13 after the quarter, 24-11.

The Rockets did not sit quietly after the Huskies took a 15-point lead as three players recorded double-doubles on the glass and on the scoreboard to slowly chip at the NIU lead. The Huskies held Toledo to 30 points in the first half and led at the break, 36-30.

Northern Illinois University staved off Toledo in the third as it maintained its lead after the frame, 50-49, but the Rockets five second chance baskets to the Huskies one in the frame proved the difference in the game's final outcome.

Toledo's Janice Monakana, who was in foul trouble in the third period, got hot in the second half as she hit 3-of-5 shots from the perimeter, finishing with five treys overall with 27 points and 17 boards. Mikaela Boyd led the UT rebound rally in the second quarter as she finished with 12 points and 16 boards while Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Woods closed the night with 12 points and nine rebounds for NIU while Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) supplemented with 11 points and five rebounds.

The Huskies will close the regular season at Western Michigan on Saturday, March 4 at Read Fieldhouse in Kalamazoo, Mich. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. Central.