YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team led wire-to-wire as the Huskies defeated Eastern Michigan, 84-75, on Saturday afternoon at the EMU Convocation Center.
 
"We knew today was a huge game," said NIU head coach Lisa Carlsen. "Obviously, we were looking up at Eastern in the standings and you're looking at a situation where if you want a realistic chance to play at home [for the MAC Tournament], you've got to be able to get this win on the road. Our kids took that the heart and understood the magnitude of the game and stepped up."
 
Three Huskies (14-13, 6-10) finished in double digits with Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) leading the way, tying her career-high with 26 points. The junior guard was 8-of-11 from the field, including 4-7 from three-point territory and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
 
Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's Anglican School) and Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) followed with 23 and 13 points, respectively. Woods just missed a triple-double dishing out a career-high nine assists and grabbing eight rebounds.
 
The Huskies came out on fire, opening the game with a 9-2 run and shooting 62.5 percent from the field in the first half. NIU pushed its lead to 10 points with under two minutes left in the first quarter, hitting three three-pointers in the period. The Huskies continued their hot shooting in the second quarter, building a 16-point lead with 1:46 left in the half before heading into the break with a 44-30 lead.
 
"We talked a lot about making sure we came out of the lockerroom ready to go," Carlsen said. "I think that's important all the time, but especially on the road and against a team that is as streaky and as explosive as Eastern Michigan.
 
"They're so athletic and they're going to make a run at some time. There's going to be times you play decent defense and they're still going to score the basketball because of their skillset and athleticism. So, that quick start for us allowed us to provide a little bit of a cushion when that run came was key."
 
NIU opened the third on a 6-2 run to lead by 18, 50-32 with 8:22 left in the third. With the Huskies still up by 18 with 7:55 left in the third, Eastern Michigan (10-17, 6-10) made several little runs the rest of the way to make the game interesting for the Huskies. A 7-2 run cut the NIU lead to 13 with 5:56 left in the third and Eagles eventually whittled the NIU lead down to 10 midway through the period.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles put together several scoring spurts to cut the Huskie lead to four with 2:08 left to play. However, Voigt cut through the left side of the lane and threw up a layup to give NIU a six-point advantage with 1:39 left in the game.
 
The Huskies were able to salt the game away at the free throw line from there. Woods hit three of four from the line, while Voigt scored NIU final four points of the game all from the charity stripe. As a team, NIU went an impressive 22-of-26 from the free throw line on the game.
 
While NIU received the production it has become accustomed to from Voigt, Woods and Smith, Abby Woollacott (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) and Ally May (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) provided productive minutes coming off the bench. May hauled in nine boards and scored four points, while Woollacott tallied eight points and four rebounds.
 
NIU returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 28, when the Huskies play host to Toledo at the Convocation Center. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT and fans can watch it on ESPN3 and listen live on 1360 AM & 98.9 FM WLBK.
 
-NIU-