FORT COLLINS, CO – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team won its second consecutive road game in overtime Sunday, defeating the Colorado State Rams 80-75 at Moby Arena.
 
Riley Blackwell (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) led four Huskies in double figures with a  career-high 18 points and added eight rebounds. Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's) had 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Gabby Nikitinaite (Orpington, Kent, UK/Coopers School) made four three-pointers on her way to 15 points. She also led NIU with nine rebounds. Freshman Chelby Koker (Racine, Wisconsin/Shoreland Lutheran) had a season-high 11 points off the bench with five rebounds and four assists.
 
"Riley kept us in the game in the first half because she was consistently knocking down shots," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "We always talk about Riley being in the right place at the right time and being such a good glue person on both ends of the floor because she shares the ball on offense and is always in the right spots defensively."
 
NIU (2-1) erased a 34-24 Colorado State halftime lead in the third quarter. Sparked by a Blackwell three-pointer, the Huskies used a 13-2 run over 6:22 to tie the game at 39. Nikitinaite had five points in that run including the three-pointer that tied the game with 2:30 left in the quarter. NIU took the lead with 1:52 left in the third when Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) made her first career three-pointer to give the Huskies a 42-40 lead. The advantage grew to six when a Woods three and a Blackwell jumper made the score 47-41. NIU held Colorado State without a field goal for the final 5:07 of the quarter to take a 47-42 lead.
 
Three of NIU's first four field goals in the fourth quarter came from the three-point line. Blackwell, Koker, and Brandon each had a three as the Huskies took a 58-52 lead with 4:53 to play. The Rams then scored the next seven points with a Tori Williams three giving Colorado State a 59-58 lead with 1:43 to go. Woods then knocked down a three on NIU's next possession to put the Huskies back up by two, 61-59. Katia Samatelopoulos then drove for a layup with 1:10 to go in the fourth. Both teams had an opportunity to win it in regulation but the game headed to overtime.
 
Colorado State (3-2) got out to a 67-63 lead 1:20 into overtime behind a pair of baskets from Annie Brady. NIU responded with a Nikitinaite three and a Blackwell layup to put the Huskies in front 68-67 with 2:14 to go. The Rams then scored four straight points to take a 71-68 lead, but that would be their last advantage of the day. Woods and Nikitinaite combined to go on a 7-0 run over 58 seconds to give NIU a 75-71 lead with 0:32 to play. The Huskies made five of their six free throws in the final minute to secure the 80-75 win.
 
NIU got off to a fast start, making five of its first six shots from the field. The Huskies broke a 5-5 tie with a 7-0 run as a pair of Blackwell layups and a Myia Starks (Plainfield, Ill./Nequa Valley) three put NIU up 12-5 with 6:05 left in the opening quarter. The Rams closed the quarter with an 11-2 run over the final 4:45 to take a 16-14 lead. Jamie Bonnarens and Makenzie Ellis each had four points in that stretch to give Colorado State the lead.
 
Colorado State's run extended to a 16-4 run early in the second quarter as a Bonnarens jumper and Megan Jacobs three put the Rams up 21-14 with 8:48 left in the half. NIU closed the gap to three points, going on a 6-2 run over 2:56 as a Koker jumper in transition made the score 23-20. The Rams then went on another 11-2 run, getting three straight three-pointers from Ellis, Bonnarens, and Tori Williams to take a 34-22 lead. Blackwell cut the deficit to 10 before halftime with a jumper at the 1:36 mark.  After its hot start from the field, NIU ended the first half shooting 32.4 percent from the field and made just two of 12 three-point attempts.
 
NIU shot 37.3 percent from the field on Sunday with Colorado State shooting 36.7 percent. The Huskies made 12 threes in the game and were 12-for-17 at the free throw line. NIU outrebounded Colorado State by 19, 60-41 and scored 24 fast break points. Williams led the Rams with 17 points as Brady, Ellis, and Bonnarens each had 12.
 
"It was huge for us to control the glass today," Carlsen said. "We were in a situation today where the team we're playing is much bigger than us. I thought we did a good job handling their physicality and getting on the boards on both ends."
 
The Huskies are back in action on Wednesday, November 17 with a 7 p.m. game at Illinois State.
 
--NIU--