BUFFALO, NY – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team had it's three-game winning streak snapped Saturday afternoon in a 68-61 loss to the Buffalo Bulls at Alumni Arena.
 
"I thought we did a better job of playing together and staying connected in the second half," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "I think if we can continue to build on that, obviously the result wasn't what we wanted, but I thought it was better basketball in the second half from us collectively and it's going to take 1-through-13 to get it done."
 
A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) led NIU with 19 points and 10 rebounds for her 12^th double-double of the season. Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) had 18 points and a team-high three assists, two points shy of tying her season-high of 20. Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) added 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
 
The two teams traded baskets to start the game. Threes from Poisson and Paulina Castro (Elgin, Ill./Harvest Christian) gave NIU an 8-7 lead with 5:56 to go in the quarter. Buffalo held NIU without a field goal for the rest of the quarter, going on an 8-1 run to take a 15-9 lead on a Summer Hemphill layup with 1:50 to play in the first.
 
NIU (7-10, 4-5 MAC) chipped away at Buffalo's lead early in the second quarter. A pair of Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) layups got the Huskies within four, 17-13, with 8:08 left in the quarter. At the 7:36 mark, NIU went on a 5-1 run behind a Brandon three and Poisson jumper to get within two, 20-18. The Bulls responded with an 8-3 run over 1:53 to take a 28-21 lead on a Georgia Wooley three-pointer with 5:11 left until halftime. The Huskies got as close as four points with 3:50 to go on three Davis free throws but Buffalo closed the half on an 8-1 run to take a 36-25 advantage into the locker room.
 
Errin Hodges (Pontiac, Ill./Evansville Central [Ind.]) got the Huskies off to a quick start in the third, scoring four points in a 6-2 run that got NIU within seven, 38-31 at the 7:28 mark. Davis scored seven consecutive points to cut the Buffalo lead down to four, 42-38, with 4:50 to go in the quarter. Buffalo's Saniaa Wilson scored four straight points to give the Bulls a 46-38 lead with under two minutes to go in the third. The Huskies closed the quarter strong with a 7-2 run, punctuated by a Brandon three and a Poisson layup that made the score 48-45 heading into the fourth.
 
Buffalo (12-7, 6-3 MAC) scored the first six points of the fourth quarter after being outscored 20-12 in the third. Baskets by Woolley, Wilson and Dyaisha Fair gave the Bulls a 54-45 lead with 7:25 to play. Sparked by a Nia Ahart (Detroit, Mich./Colgate) basket, NIU went on an 8-2 run to get within two points 58-56 with 2:29 to go. Buffalo responded with layups from Woolley and Hemphill to take a 62-56 lead with 1:47 left in the game. NIU would only get as close as three the rest of the way.
 
"Those last few possessions get magnified a bit because we felt we had put ourselves in position to get back in the game," Carlsen said. "We got down to one possession but didn't finish it off. It's a 40-minute game, so there's other possessions even in the first half we should have done better with."
 
NIU shot 36.7 percent from the field but were held to 23.8 percent from three-point range. Buffalo shot 40.7 percent from the field and outrebounded the Huskies 41-38. Woolley led all scorers with 26 points as Fair added 16 points, six assists and three steals.
 
The Huskies are on the road again on Monday, Jan. 31 for a 6 p.m. game at Western Michigan. That is a makeup of the game originally scheduled for Jan. 12. NIU returns to the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 2 to take on Bowling Green for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Prior to the game, NIU Athletics will hold the Power of the Pack Youth Clinic from 4:30-5:30 p.m. inside Victor E. Court. For more information and to register, log on to NIUHuskies.com/POTPClinic.   
 
Tickets can be purchased online at NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225). Huskie Flex Plans are still available for the 2021-22 basketball season. Purchase vouchers for $6 each and use them throughout the season to attend Huskie men's and women's basketball home games. Simply redeem vouchers for tickets at the box office prior to the game. 
 
--NIU--