DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team knocked another Mid-American Conference opponent from the ranks of the unbeaten in league play Wednesday night with a 104-73 victory over the Central Michigan Chippewas at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
NIU (5-5, 3-2 MAC) had beaten a 4-0 Bowling Green team last Saturday, and gave Central Michigan, 5-0 and in first place in the MAC entering the night, its first conference loss. It was the Huskies' first win over Central Michigan since Feb. 25, 2015 and NIU's first conference win with over 100 points in regulation since a 101-96 win at Ball State on Jan. 28, 2017.
 
"That's definitely a team win," said head coach Lisa Carlsen following the Huskies' third win in a row. "I thought our energy was consistent the entire 40 minutes regardless of what the score was. We just beat a really good Central Michigan team."
 
Six Huskies scored in double figures led by junior forward Mikayla Brandon's (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) career-high 18 points and four three-pointers. A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) and Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) each had 14 points with Davis adding a game-high 12 rebounds for a double-double. Paulina Castro (Elgin, Ill./Harvest Christian) made four threes on her way to 12 points as Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) and Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) both had 11 points off the bench.
 
The Huskies controlled the game from the opening tip, racing out to an 11-0 lead in the first 3:04 of the game. Central Michigan (7-3, 5-1 MAC) missed its first nine shots from the field before Maddy Watters made a three to make the score 14-5 at the 4:59 mark. NIU then scored seven straight points from Koker and Errin Hodges (Pontiac, Ill./Evansville Central [Ind.]) to take a 21-5 lead with under 4:00 to go. The Huskies shot 61.1 percent from the field in the first quarter, holding the Chippewas to 23.5 percent and 2-for-9 from long range to go up 27-12 heading into the second quarter.
 
"We definitely didn't want to let this get away from us," said Koker about NIU's hot start in the first quarter. "I think all of us on the bench and on the floor really wanted to stay locked in and make sure our energy didn't dip any."
 
NIU grew its lead to 22 in the second quarter, using a 12-2 run all on threes from Poisson, Brandon and Hunter to take a 45-23 lead with 3:11 to go until halftime. Davis made back-to-back layups at the end of the quarter to cap off the Huskies' highest scoring half of the season, sending NIU to the locker room up 54-31.
 
The Huskies picked up from the three-point line in the third quarter where they left off in the first half. NIU was 4-for-4 from long range to start the quarter, three coming from Castro, in a 12-2 run to make the score 66-33 with 7:09 to play in the third. Central Michigan responded with a 12-2 run of their own with eight points from Molly Davis to make the score 68-45 with 4:55 left. Up 78-53 after the third quarter, NIU opened the fourth quarter on a 15-4 run highlighted by two Brandon threes to go ahead 93-57 with 6:36 to play.
 
"We talked a lot at halftime understanding that the score needed to be 0-0 and have the same mentality to start the third quarter that we did when we started the game," Carlsen said. "I thought we did a nice job of that. I was really proud of how we played defense tonight, for the most part."
 
NIU made 15 threes in the game and shot 53.6 percent from long range. The Huskies shot 58 percent from the field overall and held Central Michigan, the MAC's leaders in field goal percentage, to 34.3 percent and 27.8 percent from the three-point line. NIU also held a 47-34 advantage in rebounds and had 19 assists to 12 turnovers.
 
The Huskies return to action on Saturday, Jan. 16 at Miami. Tip-off at Millett Hall is set for 12 p.m.
 
--NIU--