DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team had six players score in double-figures Saturday as the Huskies opened Mid-American Conference play with an 82-71 win over the Miami Redhawks at the NIU Convocation Center. It is the Huskies' fifth consecutive win and seventh at home this season.
 
"It's important to establish home court advantage, especially in the league because the road can be ruthless," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "Today was very key, not just to start 1-0 in the league, but to take care of things at home against a really good team. You have to do what you can to win your home games. We've shot the ball pretty well here, and that's a huge strength for us. Hopefully that'll continue, because if we do a good job from an execution standpoint and get the shots we want, the chances of them going in are good."
 
Sophomore forward Riley Blackwell (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) scored a career-high 16 points Saturday, making six of nine shots from the field. She also pulled down eight rebounds. Gabby Nikitinaite (Orpington, Kent, UK/Coopers School) also scored 16 points, dishing out five assists. Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) had 14 points while Errin Hodges (Evansville, Ind./Central) added 12 off the bench. Myia Starks (Plainfield, Ill./Nequa Valley) and Ally May (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) each had 10 points, with May grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds for her second straight double-double.
 
"We did a great job of sharing the ball today," said Blackwell. "We just found the open person and everyone, not just me, was knocking down open shots."
 
NIU (9-4, 1-0 MAC) got off to a fast start, going on a 9-2 run in the first 4:00 highlighted by five straight points from Blackwell. Miami cut the deficit to three when a Lauren Dickerson jumper capped a 6-0 Redhawks run that made the score 12-9 with 4:48 to play in the first quarter. The Huskies responded with a 10-3 run over the next 2:18 as a Starks layup put NIU ahead 22-12 with 1:42 left in the quarter.
 
Miami (9-3, 0-1 MAC) closed to within six to start the second quarter, but a Nikitinaite three sparked a 9-2 NIU run to give the Huskies a 31-18 lead at the 7:10 mark. After three straight Savannah Kluesner layups got the Redhawks within seven, 31-24, Blackwell bookended a 9-0 run for NIU with a pair of jumpers to make the score 40-24 with 2:25 remaining in the half. NIU led 44-31 at halftime, shooting 58 percent from the field.
 
"Our offensive execution in getting good shots was really key," Carlsen said. "If we can get good shots, I have a lot of confidence that our team can knock them down. We knew that was going to be key coming into today, because of Miami's ability to play defense that we were going to have to be sharp."
 
The Huskies took their largest lead of the game with 7:25 to play in the third quarter. A Blackwell layup followed a Nikitinaite four-point play to put NIU ahead 50-33, forcing a Miami timeout. The Redhawks responded with an 11-2 run over the next 2:56, getting six points from leading scorer Lauren Dickerson, to close to within eight points at 52-44. Miami got as close as six, 56-50, by the end of the third. NIU grew the lead back to double figures, as five straight free throws by Starks and Voigt gave the Huskies a 61-50 advantage with 8:54 to play in the fourth quarter. Miami got as close as five points late in the fourth, but NIU went 10-for-11 at the free throw line in the final two minutes to come away with the win.
 
"Not losing at home is one of our goals," said May. "We step on the floor at home every day as a united team knowing that's one of our goals and we're going to get it done."
 
Coming into Saturday's game, Miami led the MAC in scoring defense at 55.2 points per game. The Huskies shot 49.1 percent from the field and 86.2 percent at the foul line in the game, holding the Redhawks to 37.3 percent from the field. NIU outrebounded Miami 44-42, but the Redhawks forced 14 NIU turnovers while committing only eight. Kluesner led all scorers with 27 points, adding 11 rebounds. Dickerson added 25 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
 
"We saw a lot of good things today," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "When you look at the stat sheet and watch 40 minutes of basketball, it really epitomizes what a team effort it was today. We had a lot of people step up in certain situations and do what they needed to do to solidify the win. I'm proud of everyone, collectively, who got this done."
 
After going 4-0 on the homestand, the Huskies are on the road Wednesday night to face Kent State. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.
 
--NIU--