KENT, Ohio – A staunch defensive effort and solid offensive effort propelled the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team to a 72-62 victory over to Kent State at the M.A.C. Center Saturday afternoon.
 
"Our energy was noticeable and I never felt we had any panic," said NIU head coach Lisa Carlsen. "There were times the last couple of games you doubt what you're doing or you worry about making a mistake and I never saw that from us today.
 
"I thought we got great minutes off the bench, regardless of what the stats say. That energy never wavered. We did a nice job what we needed to do on the court."
 
NIU (11-11, 3-8 MAC) mixed things up with their line up against Kent State (11-12, 4-7 MAC) as Gabby Nikitinaite (Orpington, Kent, UK/Coopers School) and Riley Blackwell (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) earned their first career starts. The move paid off as NIU ended a stretch of seven consecutive losses.
 
"You have to give the credit to the kids," Carlsen said. "Whether they were starters that weren't starting or whether they were starters inserted, you didn't see any drop in intensity. That's a credit to them, understanding they have to come together, they have to do their job and they have to continue to stay at it. I'm just glad they were rewarded with a W."
 
Three Huskies finished in double figures with Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's Anglican School) leading the way with a game-high 21 points. Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) scored 19, including her 1,000th-career point, while Nikitinaite added 13.
 
NIU led most of the game, trailing only once early in the first quarter. The Huskies shot46.7 percent from the field and 90.9 from the free throw line, going 10-of-11 from the charity stripe. Kent State shot 41.4 percent from the field and a dismal 17.4 from beyond the arc. The Huskie defense forced 16 turnovers.
 
"We did a tremendous job defensively," she said. "They hit some tough shots and we continued to battle on the glass."
 
Voigt scored her 1,000th career point on three-pointer from the left wing midway through the third quarter. That three keyed an 8-2 run by the Huskies and helped NIU wrestle control of the game. Back-to-back threes by Voigt and Nikitinaite pushed NIU's lead to 52-41 with 3:17 left in the third quarter and the Huskies went into the fourth with a 55-47 advantage.
 
With NIU up by 11, 60-49, with 7;30 left in the game, Kent State went on a 9-2 run to pull to with four with 3:29 left. That would be as close as the Golden Flashes would get. A pair of Voigt free throws and a layup by Woods and the game was back in NIU's control.
 
Kent State's leading scorer Jordan Korinek got into foul trouble early, picking up her second foul midway through the second quarter. She picked up her third in the opening seconds of the second half and went to the bench for the next seven minutes. Korinek finished with 14 points.
 
NIU will return to the floor on Wednesday, Feb. 7, when the Huskies travel to Akron. Tip-off versus the Zips is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
 
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