DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team capped a wild day Monday with a 109-102 double overtime win over the Brown Bears at Victor E. Court.
 
The game was delayed due to a leak in the NIU Convocation Center roof and eventually moved to Victor E. Court.
 
"I don't think anyone's going to go home disappointed from this game," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "Credit to our team for having to play some extended minutes and tough it out with a little bit of a depleted bench. Give credit to our players for doing a great job, and credit to our facilities people who could make it happen in Victor E. so we could have an opportunity to play It was a great 50 minutes of basketball."
 
The change of court didn't stop the Huskies from recording back-to-back 100-point games for the first time since the 1992-93 season. Senior Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) led all scorers with 36 points, making all five NIU three-pointers while going 7-for-7 at the free throw line. Voigt also added 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season while playing all 50 minutes, a career-high.
 
"I don't think we ever lost faith in what we were going to do," said Voigt, who recorded her fourth straight game with at least 25 points. "We trusted our system. You can only control so much, and you just have to have a bounce-back mentality and that's what we did tonight. "
 
Myia Starks (Plainfield, Ill./Nequa Valley) tied her career-high in scoring with 25 points, adding six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. She also tied a career-high with 11 free throws. Starks had 19 points in the second half and overtimes. Ally May (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) led all players with a career-high 17 rebounds and tied her career-high for scoring with 16 points. May was 8-for-11 from the field. Gabby Nikitinaite (Orpington, Kent, UK/Coopers School) had 18 points and four assists.
 
NIU (8-4) trailed by eight points, 54-46, with 4:07 to play in the third quarter after Brown got a three from Shayna Mehta and a fast break layup by Taylor Will. The Huskies responded with six straight points, capped by a Riley Blackwell (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) jumper, to get back within two 54-52 at the 1:28 mark. After a Justine Gaziano three-pointer put Brown ahead 57-52, Errin Hodges (Evansville, Ind./Central) got NIU within three before the end of the quarter on a pull-up jumper in the lane.
 
Brown (7-7) quickly got its lead back up to six in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, 60-54. Back-to-back baskets by May sparked an 11-2 run over 1:52 that put NIU back in front 65-62 with 5:49 to play in regulation. Voigt scored the last seven points of that stretch with four coming at the foul line.
 
"Our guards continually pushed the ball and we ran our lanes, which led to easy shots," said May. "I definitely came into this game wanting to rebound the ball as best I can. I think that's the best way I can help this team."
 
The Huskies grew their lead to five, 74-69, on a pair of Starks free throws with 2:10 remaining. Brown came back with an Erika Steeves layup and a Mehta three to tie the game at 74 with 1:16 to play. The Bears then took the lead, 76-74, on a Will layup with 17 seconds left. After a timeout, Nikitinaite drove in and scored to tie the game at 76 with 15 seconds to play. The NIU defense held Brown without a final shot to force overtime.
 
The Bears got out to an 85-81 lead with 2:33 to play in the first overtime on a Gaziano three-point play. A Voigt three-pointer sparked a 7-0 Huskies run over the next 1:17 that put NIU ahead 88-85. With 16 seconds left in overtime, Steeves knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 88 and force a second overtime.
 
Just as in the first extra session, Brown jumped out to an early lead in the second overtime. The Bears opened on a 9-4 run, highlighted by five points from Traiva Breedlove, to take a 97-92 lead with 3:31 to play. That would be Brown's last lead of the game. Voigt's fifth three-pointer of the game sparked a 13-0 NIU run that put the Huskies ahead for good 105-97 with 35 seconds to play. The Huskies scored their final eight points of the game at the free throw line, where NIU was 11-for-11 in overtime and 26-for-29 in the game.
 
"Today was a momentum game," Starks said. "This was a good win for us heading into MAC play on Saturday. We're going to fight until the last buzzer sounds."
 
NIU shot 42.4 percent from the field, while Brown shot 43.5 percent. The Huskies dominated on the glass Monday, outrebounding the Bears 62-47. NIU scored 25 points off 21 Brown turnovers and had 20 assists on 39 made field goals. Mehta led Brown with 25 points, adding 10 rebounds and nine assists. Steeves had 22 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists.
 
"We did a great job of not giving Brown second-chance opportunities," Carlsen said. "When we do a good job on the defensive glass, it allows us to get out and go. We're at our best in the open court, and that will always be who we are. When we rebound the basketball, it just makes us better in all facets of the game."
 
The Huskies wrap up this current four-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 1 p.m. when NIU opens Mid-American Conference play against Miami at the Convocation Center. Tickets are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
 
--NIU--