KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat the Western Michigan Broncos 74-71 at University Arena Saturday afternoon.
 
It was the largest halftime deficit NIU came back from to win a game this season. Mikayla Voigt (Slinger, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) led all scorers with 26 points, going 10-for-13 at the free throw line. Myia Starks (Plainfield, Ill./Nequa Valley) was a perfect 5-for-5 at the foul line to score 13 points with four assists. Riley Blackwell (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) had 10 points, four rebounds, and three steals.
 
Western Michigan (10-19, 4-14 MAC) led 35-27 at halftime, and took a 39-29 lead at the 8:39 mark of the third after back-to-back layups from Deja Wimby and Jasmyn Walker. NIU then went on a 14-3 run over 4:26 to take a 43-42 lead with 3:32 to go in the quarter. Voigt, Blackwell, and Gabby Nikitinaite (Orpington, Kent, UK/Coopers School) each made a three in that stretch, with Blackwell scoring the last five points to put the Huskies in front. NIU led 46-45 with 1:09 left in the third when the Broncos got two straight threes from Maddie Watters to go ahead 51-46 with 0:40 to go. Voigt cut the deficit to three before the end of the quarter with her runner in the lane as time expired making the score 51-48.
 
NIU (18-12, 10-8 MAC) used an 8-2 run early in the fourth quarter to take a 60-58 lead. Nikitinaite started the run with a three-point play and Voigt capped it with one of her own at the 7:22 mark. After a Leighah-Amori Wool three-point play put the Broncos back up by one, Voigt made two free throws to start a 6-2 Huskies run that gave NIU a 66-63 lead with 5:12 to go. Western Michigan came back with a 6-2 run of its own, all at the free throw line, to take a 69-68 lead with 2:57 to play. NIU made the final run of the game, scoring six of the last eight points to win 74-71. The Huskies were 9-for-9 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter and 12-for-13 in the second half.
 
"That was 20 minutes of the toughest basketball we've played," Carlsen said about the second half comeback. "Our challenge at halftime was to match their toughness and physicality, and I was proud of the team for their adjustment in the second half. We got to the foul line and we did a much better job on the glass."

NIU and Western Michigan traded baskets to start the game, with an Ally May (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) jumper putting the Huskies ahead 8-7 with 6:05 left in the opening quarter. The Broncos then got back-to-back threes from Wool and Meredith Miller to take a 13-8 lead with 3:58 to play in the first. Western Michigan grew its lead to seven, 17-10, at the 2:41 mark after four straight points from Jasmyn Walker. NIU closed the quarter on an 8-2 run, capped by Nikitinaite three with 0:10 left, to get within one at 19-18.

The run extended into a 10-2 run, as an Abby Woollacott (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) layup gave NIU a 20-19 lead with 9:46 to go in the second quarter. Western Michigan (10-18, 4-13 MAC) then went on an 8-0 run over the next 2:28 with another Wool triple giving the Broncos a 27-20 lead. The Huskies cut the deficit to two at the 5:33 mark when a pair of Hodges free throws made the score 27-25. However, the Broncos closed the quarter on an 8-2 run sparked by three-pointers from Maddie Watters and Kamrin Reed to take a 35-27 lead.

NIU finished the game 22-of-26 at the free throw line, and shot 43.4 percent from the field. Western Michigan was 15-for-16 at the foul line and shot 40.4 percent from the field. The Broncos held a 34-28 advantage on the glass, but NIU was able to turn 16 Western Michigan turnovers into 18 points.
 
The Huskies will host Western Michigan in the first round of the 2019 Mid-American Conference Tournament on Monday, March 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center. Tickets are available at the following link. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
--NIU--