ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team was firing on all cylinders and never trailed in its 87-50 rout of the Navy Midshipmen Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall. NIU shot north of 48 percent from both the field and beyond the arc while holding Navy to 14 percent from three in the win.

"I think our defensive intensity was good out of the locker room and then obviously, when you shoot it as well as we did early, it gets a lot of people going," said head NIU coach Lisa Carlsen. "Shooting is a contagious thing - I thought we shared the basketball really well. And again, I thought our defensive intensity really sparked our offense,"

Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) drained a 3-pointer to give the Huskies (5-1) their first bucket of the contest. Following the basket, NIU kept its foot on the gas, igniting on a quick 7-2 run and forcing Navy (0-6) to burn its first timeout.

After ending the first frame on a 10-0 run capped by Laura Nickel's (Marshall, Wis./Marshall) triple off a turnover, the Huskies saw their lead inflated to 17 points (27-10). NIU shot lights out in the second quarter as they were 59 percent (10-17) from the field and 80 percent (4-5) from deep. Following Kelli Giuliani's basket for the Midshipmen at the 7:46 mark, NIU took off on a 22-2 run to close the half.

With a 34-point lead coming out of the locker room, the Huskies picked up right where they left off as A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) scored NIU's first points 48 seconds into the second half.

A brief 6-0 Navy run with five minutes to play in the third frame was quickly snuffed after Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) logged a non-conventional three-point play at the charity stripe. Tatiana Hodges-Johnson (Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines East) and Poisson posted two more field goals for the Huskies, but Navy closed the quarter on a 10-2 run to come within 32 (71-39).

Back-and-forth action was the story of the final quarter. Moriah Prewitt (Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) drilled a 3-pointer to open scoring and sparked a 7-3 run before the Midshipmen logged two small runs of their own, but they weren't enough to overcome the deficit. With the win, NIU notched its fifth-straight victory.

The Huskies were 48 percent (34-71) from the field, 50 percent (12-24) from three and 64 percent (7-11) from the line. On the offensive side of the court, Emma Carter (Bristol, Vt./Mount Abraham Union) led the way with 23 minutes played and a season-high 14 points.

"It's fun to see Emma [Carter] have a game like that, especially this is close to home. She's got friends and family in the stands, which is awesome,"

Close behind was Davis with 13 points and 11 boards for her second double-double of the year. Tara Stauffacher (Columbus, Wis./ Beaver Dam) tied her season-high 10 points while Poisson chipped in 10 as well.
 
The Huskies crashed the glass for 44 rebounds, 17 of which were offensive. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) had a game-high eight assists while the team racked up 24.

Notably, 14 Huskies saw action in today's game.

"That's what we're hopeful for – to have some of our starters rest a little bit. We have a veteran squad, and we have some old bodies that need a little extra rest. So, I'm hoping that will pay dividends for us tomorrow against what will what I know will be a really good team."

NIU will conclude the Navy Classic with a battle against the Richmond Spiders (4-1) tomorrow at 2:30 CT at Alumni Hall.