DEKALB, Ill. – Led by a career-high 17 points from sophomore guard Errin Hodges (Evansville, Ind./Central), the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team defeated the Northern Iowa Panthers 70-59 at the NIU Convocation Center Sunday in the consolation round of the Preseason WNIT.
 
"Errin's worked really hard in the last year to put herself in a position to play and be part of the rotation," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "When she goes into the game, something's going to happen and most of the time it's good. She's going to go all-out on both ends, and her athleticism allows her to be a tough matchup. The job that she can do on the glass and defensively are differences for us."
 
Hodges was 6-for-9 from the field and 5-for-7 at the free-throw line on her way to a team-high 17 points. Ally May (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) scored a season-high 12 points with a team-high eight rebounds. Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's) had 12 points and six rebounds in 37 minutes, while Myia Starks (Oswego, Ill./Nequa Valley) also scored in double-figures with 10 points.
 
NIU (2-1) opened the game on a 9-0 run in the first 5:12 of the game. Woods scored the Huskies' first four points on a pair of layups, with a May layup and Hodges three-point play capping that stretch. Northern Iowa started the game 0-for-9 from the field before a Taylor Hagen layup got the Panthers on the board at the 4:24 mark. The Huskies then closed the quarter on an 8-2 run that included the first two career points for freshman forward Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais), taking a 17-4 lead. NIU held UNI to 2-for-16 from the field in the first quarter.
 
The Huskies scored the first six points of the second quarter as baskets by May, Hodges, and Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) gave NIU its largest lead of the game, 23-4, with 8:40 to play. UNI cut the deficit to 11 with 6:56 to play in the quarter, with six straight points from Ellie Howell sparking on 8-0 Panthers run that made the score 23-12. NIU got the lead back up to 15 with 2:51 to play until halftime as jumpers by Starks and Woods put the Huskies ahead 31-16. The Panthers scored six of the last eight points in the half to get within nine points at halftime, 33-24.
 
"In key situations, we were able to settle in on what we wanted to do attacking their defense and did a much better job of it in the second half," Carlsen said.
 
NIU started the third quarter on a 12-2 run, highlighted by three-pointers from May and Riley Blackwell (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield), to go back up by 19, 45-26, with 7:17 to play in the period. Northern Iowa (1-2) closed to within 12 with 2:27 remaining as a Karli Rucker layup made the score 46-34. The Huskies scored the final five points of the third, with a Voigt triple and Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) layup giving NIU a 51-34 lead heading into the fourth. UNI made a charge in the fourth quarter to get as close as nine points, 66-57, with 2:36 to go but the Huskies made their free throws down the stretch to come away with the 70-59 win.
 
"I'm really proud of this group," Carlsen said. "We came out and beat a really good Northern Iowa team that has great tradition and high expectations for this year. It's a great indicator of how great this team can be."
 
After shooting 50% from the field in the first half, NIU finished the game shooting 45.8% from the field despite only going 3-for-18 from the three-point line. The Huskies outrebounded the Panthers 44-34, scoring eight points off of 10 offensive rebounds.
 
"I thought Northern Iowa did a good job minimizing our good looks from three-point range," said Carlsen. "We had to find other ways to score. I thought all of our guards did a good job putting the ball on the floor, finding a teammate, and getting themselves to the rim. It was a good learning situation for us."
 
"It's really important to score those high-percentage shots," added May. "You've got to put in those easy shots off good passes."
 
NIU is back in action on Sunday, Nov. 25 at Indiana. Tip-off at Assembly Hall is at 1 p.m.
 
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