DeKALB, IL – Ally May's (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) layup with 4.9 seconds remaining Saturday was the difference in the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team's 64-63 win over the Buffalo Bulls at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
"The thing that sticks out the most is our ability to have a great next play mentality," said head coach Lisa Carlsen following NIU's win. "There were times where we didn't play great basketball but I never felt like there was ever any panic. We had contributions from the entire roster which is huge. That's when we have been at our best this year."
 
NIU (6-13, 2-6 MAC) trailed by four points with under a minute to go when Gabby Nikitinaite (Orpington, Kent, UK/Coopers School) made her fifth three-pointer of the game to put the Huskies within one, 63-62, with 50 seconds to play. Buffalo missed a shot on their next possession with Myia Starks (Plainfield, Ill./Nequa Valley) pulling down the rebound to set up NIU's final possession. With eight seconds left, Nikitinaite drove from the left corner, drew a double team, and dished the ball to May for the go-ahead basket with 4.9 seconds left. The Huskies stepped up on defense on Buffalo's last possession, forcing a tough shot from Hanna Hall to go short at the buzzer. NIU's win is its fourth in the last five meetings against the Bulls, with three decided by two points or less.
 
"To get a shot off, I knew we had to attack," said Nikitinaite, who led the game with five assists. "They were going to collapse on me because they were not going to give up an easy layup. I saw Ally out of the corner of my eye and I knew that was going in."
 
"I read Gabby's drive and just looped around," May said about the game-winner. "It was a perfect pass for a two foot shot."
 
May scored all six of her points Saturday in the fourth quarter. Woods and Nikitinaite each led NIU with 15 points and combined for nine assists. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) and A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) led the Huskies with six rebounds apiece off the bench. All 10 Huskies that played Saturday scored.
 
Buffalo (13-7, 4-5 MAC) led 51-43 heading into the fourth quarter. NIU erased that advantage with an 8-0 run over 2:43 on threes by Woods and Nikitinaite and a pair of May free throws to tie the game at 51. The Huskies took the lead 56-55 with 5:56 remaining on a Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) three. After an Adebola Adeyeye layup gave the Bulls a 57-56 lead, Brandon converted a three-point play to put NIU ahead 59-57 with under five minutes to go. Buffalo came back with six straight points over 2:55 to take a 63-59 lead with 1:03 left in the game.
 
The Huskies got off to a fast start Saturday, opening the game on a 10-4 run in the first 4:29 highlighted by five straight points from Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's). Buffalo responded with a 12-2 run to take a 16-12 lead with 1:03 left in the opening quarter on a jumper by Dyaisha Fair. Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) made a three in the final minute to get the Huskies within one, 16-15, heading into the second quarter. The Bulls held NIU to 26.3 percent from the field in the second, building a 14-point lead when Elea Gaba made a jumper with 1:40 to go to put the score at 34-20. The Huskies scored the final seven points of the half, with a Nikitinaite three capping that run to make the score at halftime 34-27.
 
NIU shot 36.2 percent from the field with 10 three-pointers. Buffalo shot 39.4 percent but was held to 5-for-22 from the three-point line. The Huskies assisted on 18 of their 25 made baskets and outrebounded Buffalo 46-41. Fair led all scorers with 23 points with Adeyeye leading all players with 12 rebounds.
 
"Playing the best bring out the best in you," Carlsen said. "Buffalo has been to the NCAA Tournament in the last few years and has had a ton of success. They're a great team that's going to win a lot of games. It was a hard-fought game and I think our toughness showed in ways today that we've maybe struggles with a bit this year."
 
The Huskies go on the road Wednesday, February 5 to face first-place Central Michigan. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. CT.
 
--NIU--