BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Four Huskies scored in double figures Saturday as the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team handed the Bowling Green Falcons its first Mid-American Conference loss of the season in a 78-71 win at the Stroh Center.
 
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led NIU with 18 points adding seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Paulina Castro (Elgin, Ill./Harvest Christian) made a career-high five three-pointers on her way to a career-high 15 points. Emily Meinert (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College) also scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
 
Errin Hodges (Pontiac, Ill./Evansville Central [Ind.]) was 7-for-9 from the field to score 14 points. Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) led all players with 14 rebounds, tying a career-high set earlier this season at Bradley.
 
"Paulina took great shots and she knocked down the shots we needed her to make today," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "Emily's physicality on both ends of the floor was critical today. She did a good job on the glass today and her 3-for-3 from three was a bonus."
 
After a 16-16 first quarter, NIU (4-5, 2-2 MAC) got some separation from the Falcons behind back-to-back threes from Castro and Riley Blackwell (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) which gave the Huskies a 27-22 lead with 6:41 to play in the second. The lead grew to seven at the seven at the 3:56 mark when Meinert and Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, lll./Bolingbrook) combined for consecutive layups to make the score 33-26. Bowling Green got as close as four but NIU ended the half on an 8-2 run with threes from Koker and Castro giving the Huskies a 41-31 lead at the break. NIU shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half and held the Falcons to 2-for-15 from the three-point line.
 
Bowling Green (8-2, 4-1 MAC) got a three from Kadie Hempfling to open the third quarter, but Koker responded with seven straight points of her own to put NIU ahead 48-34 at the 8:07 mark. The Huskies led 50-37 when Lexi Fleming sparked a 9-3 Falcons run that got Bowling Green within seven, 53-46, with 3:35 left in the quarter. NIU put the lead back into double digits on baskets by Meinert and Hodges that made the score 57-46 with under 2:00 remaining in the third, but the Falcons held the Huskies without a field goal for the last 1:50 to cut the deficit to eight, 58-50, heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Meinert made her second and third three-pointers of the game early in the fourth quarter, putting the Huskies up 66-56 with 6:30 to play in the ballgame. Bowling Green got within six points at the 5:04 mark on baskets by Hempfling and Angela Perry that put the score at 66-60. NIU answered that with layups from Hodges and Brandon to go back up 10, 70-60, with 3:49 remaining. The Falcons attempted one last run to get in the game, going on a 7-2 run over 2:20 to pull within five 72-67 with 0:52 to go. NIU made its free throws in the final minute to come away with the 78-71 win, the Huskies sixth straight victory against Bowling Green.
 
"I see the composure with this group as they continue to get more and more confident in what we're asking them to do on the floor," Carlsen said. "That's huge because you can expect that every MAC game is going to be a highly contested ballgame. The more opportunities we have to learn and grow in those situations, the more likely that we can expect success."
 
The Huskies shot 45.9 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from long distance. NIU outrebounded Bowling Green 46-33 and held the Falcons to 4-for-29 from the three-point line. Fleming led all scorers with 26 points.
 
NIU returns home to host Central Michigan on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Although fans are unable to attend NIU basketball games this season, you can still make your presence felt in the NIU Convocation Center by purchasing a cutout as part of the "Huskie Howl" presented by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO).
 
For just $60, fans can put their image on a cutout that will remain in place in the NIU Convocation Center for all NIU men's and women's basketball games during the 2020-21 season. Net proceeds from all fan cutouts will benefit the Huskie Athletic Fund. Click here to order your cutout.
 
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