ATHENS, Ohio - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team snapped its six-game losing streak Saturday afternoon with a 71-68 victory over the Ohio Bobcats at the Convocation Center. The win was the Huskies' first road win of the season and first in Mid-American Conference play.

"In true MAC fashion, this one came down to the last couple possessions," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "If anything, the last couple games have taught us that we have to finish. I think our poise down the stretch was pretty good and if that's going to be something that it takes to get over the hump, hopefully we can string a few more together."

Redshirt-Senior guard Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) led four Huskies in double-figure scoring with a season-high 20 points. Poisson made a career-high six three-pointers in the game. A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) posted her fourth straight double-double with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) nearly had a triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Errin Hodges (Pontiac, Ill./Evansville Central [Ind.]) also scored 13 points, adding eight rebounds and two steals.

NIU (4-7, 1-2 MAC) used a 13-3 run early in the third quarter to take a 44-32 lead at the 4:42 mark. Emily Meinert (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College) scored four points in the run that included a Poisson three as five different Huskies helped build upon a 31-27 halftime advantage. The Huskies took their largest lead of the game with 1:01 to go in the third when Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) capped a 5-0 run by herself with a three-point play that made the score 52-38. The Bobcats scored the final nine points of the quarter to cut the deficit to five at 52-47 on a Kaylee Bambule three that beat the quarter horn.

Poisson made her sixth three of the game to start the fourth quarter, staking NIU to a 55-47 lead. Ohio used a 7-2 run midway through the fourth quarter to get within four on a Cece Hooks layup that made the score 60-56. The two sides then traded buckets, with a pair of Hodges layups giving NIU a 62-56 lead with 3:38 to play. Gabby Burris got the Bobcats within two with 1:51 to go with a three, but Hodges answered with a three-point play at the other end to make the score 67-62 with 0:43 left.

NIU then forced an Ohio turnover on the Bobcats' next possession. Ohio fouled Koker with 0:27 left, with the junior guard making two free throws to give NIU a 69-62 lead. The Bobcats made one last run, getting threes from Burris and Bambule to get within one 69-68 with 0:05 left. Ohio fouled Koker again, who once again made the two free throws to make the score 71-68. NIU's defense forced a tough Bobcats shot with one second left that went off the mark and secured the Huskies' first win at Ohio since 2013.

"This is a seasoned ballclub and these kids have been in situations like this before," Carlsen said. "They've been through this and I trust them to understand what needs to get done. In those critical situations down the stretch, they stepped up and executed."

The Huskies held Ohio to one field goal in 3:47 in the first quarter, going on a 9-2 run capped by four straight Davis points to take a 12-6 lead at the 3:48 mark. Davis scored eight straight points for NIU at one point in the opening quarter, making back-to-back layups to give NIU a 16-9 lead with 2:15 left. NIU ended the quarter up 19-11 after a Brandon three in the final minute.

Ohio (6-4, 0-1 MAC) used a 7-2 run in the second quarter to get within three, as a Kendall Hale triple made the score 24-21 with 4:24 to play until halftime. The Bobcats got as close as two with 3:01 to go on a Hooks three-point play, but Poisson made a three on NIU's next trip down to make the score 29-24. Burris knocked down a three to make the score 29-27 with 2:04 to go in the half, but that would be Ohio's last basket of the second quarter. Koker made a driving layup with 1:39 to go to give NIU a 31-27 lead.

NIU held Ohio 13 points below their season average and outrebounded the Bobcats 53-34. The Huskies shot 38.3 percent from the field and made 17 of 19 free throw attempts. Ohio shot 34.7 percent from the field and was just 4-for-10 from the foul line. Hooks led all scorers with 24 points adding nine rebounds and five steals. Burris had 19 points.

The Huskies' next game is at Western Michigan on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. CT.

—NIU—