DEKALB, Ill. – In a game that pitted the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team's perfect home record against the Central Michigan Chippewas' perfect road record, it was the visiting Chippewas that came away with an 89-66 win Saturday afternoon at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
"Central Michigan is a great team and they've won a lot of games for a lot of reasons," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "It was one of those days where we were not real sharp in a lot of areas, and any time that happens against a team of the caliber of Central they're going to exploit that. There were times where we had too many empty possessions or possessions where we didn't get stops that it was hard to get back into it."
 
Junior guard Myia Starks (Plainfield, Ill./Nequa Valley) led NIU with 17 points on Saturday, adding four rebounds and two steals. Errin Hodges (Evansville, Ind./Central) had 14 points off the bench with Gabby Nikitinaite (Orpington, Kent, UK/Coopers School) adding 12 points. Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) led NIU with four assists to go with her 10 points.
 
NIU (9-6, 1-2 MAC) got out to a 7-2 lead early in the first quarter, with Nikitinaite scoring five of those points. After a Voigt three put the Huskies ahead 10-6, Central Michigan went on a 13-4 run over 2:22 to take a 19-14 lead at the 3:01 mark. Baskets by Starks and Riley Blackwell (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) got the Huskies within three, 21-18, by the end of the opening quarter.
 
Central Michigan's (12-3, 3-0 MAC) came alive in the second quarter as the Chippewas shot 71.4 percent from the field. NIU was within two, 23-21, after a Hodges triple early in the quarter. A Micaela Kelly layup and a Kyra Bussell three-pointer bookended a 10-2 Central Michigan run that put the visitors ahead 35-23 with 6:43 to play in the half. The Huskies scored the next five points to get within seven as a Blackwell jumper made the score 35-28. However, Central Michigan outscored NIU 12-7 in the last five minutes of the quarter to take a 47-35 lead at halftime.
 
The Chippewas opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run, getting six points from Reyna Frost, to take a 57-37 lead with 6:04 left in the period. NIU was able to cut the deficit to 15 early in the fourth as threes by Hodges and Ninni Salmi (Kauhajoki, Finland/San Francisco) made the score 68-53 with 9:42 to play. That's when Central Michigan's Presley Hudson took over. The Chippewas' leading scorer put up nine of Central Michigan's next 11 points to put them ahead 79-55 with 6:38 remaining. Hudson scored 14 of her game-high 24 points in the final quarter as Central Michigan went on to win 89-66.
 
NIU shot 38.1 percent from the floor as Central Michigan shot 53.8 percent. The Chippewas also held a 42-30 advantage on the glass. Frost had 20 points and 21 rebounds to go with Hudson's 24.
 
"There were times that we took shots that were a bit rushed," Carlsen said. "We're trying to be aggressive, so I don't fault the kids for that. The percentage of those shots going in makes it difficult. We got some looks that we normally knock down but just didn't today."
 
The Huskies go on the road next for a game at Bowling Green on Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 6 p.m.
 
--NIU--