TOLEDO, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team moved to 9-7 in the Mid-American Conference Saturday afternoon after a 64-53 loss to the Toledo Rockets at Savage Arena.
 
Senior guard Mikayla Voigt led NIU with 19 points, adding a game-high four steals. Voigt passed teammate Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's) for seventh all-time on the NIU career scoring chart with 1,665 points. Gabby Nikitinaite (Orpington, Kent, UK/Coopers School) added 11 points and a team-high three assists. Riley Blackwell (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) and Ninni Salmi (Kauhajoki, Finland/San Francisco) each led NIU with six rebounds.
 
NIU (17-11, 9-7 MAC) and Toledo traded baskets to start the game, with five points from Voigt staking the Huskies to a 9-6 lead with 5:18 to play in the opening quarter. The Rockets then scored six of the next nine points with a Tatyana Davis layup tying the game at 12 with 2:31 left in the first. Voigt put the Huskies ahead 14-12 with a jumper at the 1:25 mark, a lead that held through the end of the quarter.
 
Toledo (18-9, 10-6 MAC) opened the second quarter on an 11-2 run, capped off by back-to-back layups from Kaayla McIntyre, to take a 23-16 lead with 6:49 to play in the half. NIU answered with a 12-4 run of its own to end the half. Voigt scored five of the 12 points as her three at the 2:36 mark, combined with a Nikitinaite layup, got the Huskies within two at 25-23. NIU closed the half with an Ally May layup and a three from Nikitinaite with 0:08 left to take a 28-27 lead at halftime.
 
Voigt and May combined for the first seven NIU points of the third quarter. May's jumper with 6:37 to play in the quarter gave the Huskies a 35-31 lead. Toledo then went on a 7-0 run over the next 1:27 as a Mikaela Boyd layup gave the Rockets a 38-35 advantage. NIU came back to tie the game at 41 with 3:06 remaining in the quarter on a Voigt jumper. The Rockets then went on a 13-1 run over 5:41 to take a 54-42 lead with 7:19 to play in the game. Toledo made three three-pointers in that stretch, with two from Nakiah Black putting the Rockets up by 12. The Huskies got as close as 10 twice, as a Blackwell three-point play with 3:35 to play made the score 60-50.
 
Toledo shot 44.1 percent from the field, while NIU only shot 34.5 percent. The Rockets also outrebounded the Huskies 42-30. McIntyre led all scorers with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
 
The Huskies are home to face Ball State for Senior Night on Wednesday, March 6 at 6 p.m. Prior to the game, NIU will honor senior Mikayla Voigt. Tickets are available from the NIU Convocation Center Box Office, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or by visiting NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
 
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