CLEVELAND - Draped in memories of the program's longest conference tournament run since 1995, the NIU women's basketball team could not hold onto its one-point edge through three quarters of play as Toledo (25-8) rallied past the Huskies (21-11) to claim its first Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship since 2001 at Quicken Loans Arena, 82-71.

Defensively, the Huskies only allowed the Rockets to two points on second chance opportunities, despite its 10 offensive rebounds, and forced 15 turnovers in the game.

"I think you saw in the championship game two really good teams going at it," said Head Coach Lisa Carlsen. "I thought for 40 minutes we battled through some things that were uncharacteristic of us, but I told them when we left the locker room, this is an opportunity for us to walk out with our heads held high."

While Northern Illinois University was unable to hit shots in the first half, opening 6-for-28, Toledo turned the ball over 11 times. Little separated the two teams through the first three-quarters, as both the Huskies and the Rockets never led by more than seven points.

The game heated up at the start of the fourth quarter, as the Huskies accounted for five early points to take a four-point lead on a three-pointer by Courtney Woods with 8:54 left in regulation, 54-50.

However, just 1:28 later, Toledo reclaimed its first lead in over 11 minutes of game time and built a 10-point lead on a 14-0 run, 64-54, with 4:54 remaining.

The 10-point swing over the four minute period would be too much for Northern Illinois to try and overcome despite the best efforts of Ally Lehman, Janae Poisson and Renee Sladek. While the Huskies fouled the Toledo to get the ball back, the Rockets - who shot 4-of-14 from the free-throw line to start the game - finished the game 20-for-32 at the line as it only missed twice in its final 18 trips to the stripe.

The trio accounted for 22 points in the final quarter but could not cut the Toledo lead any lower than eight points, erasing the double-digit deficit seven times in the last four minutes of play.

While the Rockets precision at the free throw line was impressive, its field goal percentage in the fourth quarter (9-of-12) was just as deadly, besting the Huskies by 12 in the period (34-22).

NIU's trio combined for 50 points, led by Lehman's 22 with six rebounds and six assists to her credit. Sladek accounted for 15 points in the contest on 6-of-11 shooting, tying her career-high, and boosting her tournament average to 10 points per game.

Poisson contributed 10 points in the effort, leading NIU in three-point field goals with two in the contest. The Matteson, Ill., native had not scored in double-figures in consecutive games since Jan. 25-28 and recorded the feat for the 13th time in her freshman campaign.

Coach Carlsen took a moment to reflect the Huskies season and the tournament run.

"We've done a lot of things this year that a lot of people didn't think we were probably capable of, but there were 15 kids in the locker room that definitely believed we had an opportunity to do some of the things we did do, and I think because of that we need to be proud of the overall body of work."

Stay tuned for the Huskies postseason possibility next week as they could earn an at-large berth into the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). The tournament field will be announced on Monday night following the NCAA's Tournament announcement.

NOTES
***Guards Ally Lehman and Courtney Woods were named to the MAC All-Tournament team.  They are the first Huskies named to the MAC All Tournament team since 2002 when Jennifer Youngblood earned the honor, and are just the fourth and fifth NIU players ever to be named to the MAC All-Tournament team (Lisa Starosta, 1985; Stephanie Raymond, 2007).

***Lehman averaged 18.7 points, 6.0 assists and 6.7 rebounds in the tournament. Woods averaged 11.7 points and 7.0 rebounds. 

***With 13 points Saturday and 10 versus Western Michigan, freshman Janae Poisson scored in double digits in back-to-back games for the first time since the games versus Kent State (16) and Ball State (18) on January 25 and 28, respectively.

***Renee Sladek tied her career high with 15 points in the Championship game. Sladek played much of her best basketball in the tournament with 31 points, 11 rebounds and shot 13-of-19 from the field. 

***Last NIU MAC Tournament Championship Appearance (women's basketball) – 1982 (midseason tournament, no NCAA bid)

***Last Women's Basketball Conference Tournament Championship – 1995 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Championship (3-11-95), defeated LaSalle 80-77 (overtime)

***All-time NCAA Tournament Appearances (5) – 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995

1990 – North Star Conference Champions
1992 – North Star Conference Champions
1993 – Mid-Continent Conference Champions
1995 – Midwestern Collegiate Conference Champions
 
***Other Postseason Appearances – (1): 1991 – NWIT