DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team shot 51 percent from the field and 50 percent from the three-point line Saturday afternoon on its way to a 73-55 win over the Western Michigan Broncos at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
The win was head coach Lisa Carlsen's 100^th at NIU. She is the third coach in the history of the NIU women's basketball program to win 100 games. It was also the Huskies' fifth win in their last six home games.
 
"When you do this for a long time, numbers are bound to happen," said Carlsen following Saturday's win. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here at NIU. I've had some great people on staff and have been blessed with a lot of great players. Getting up to do this on a day-to-day basis is what I love to do. This team makes it really fun to come to work and hopefully we can continue to win ballgames."
 
NIU (11-13, 8-8 MAC) and Western Michigan traded baskets to start the game, with a Megan Wagner three giving the Broncos a 9-8 lead with 5:14 to go in the first quarter. The Huskies then ratcheted up their defense, holding Western Michigan scoreless for the remainder of the first. A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) scored the final five points of an 8-0 run to give NIU a 16-9 lead after the first quarter.
 
The offense for NIU came alive in the second quarter, shooting 71.4 percent from the field. It started with an 8-2 run after an early Sydney Shafer three. Three-pointers from Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) and Nia Ahart (Detroit, Mich./Colgate) helped put NIU up 10, 24-14, with 8:03 left until halftime. Sparked by a Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) jumper midway through the quarter, NIU went on a 14-0 run over 4:34 to take a 40-19 lead with just over a minute to go in the first half. Poisson and Marable combined for nine of the 14 points in the run as the Huskies went 6-for-7 from the field. Western Michigan scored the final basket of the half to make the halftime score 40-21. The 19-point halftime lead ties the largest for NIU this season, set on Nov. 22 against Bradley.
 
"We've talked a lot about our defensive intensity setting the tone," Carlsen said. "If you can set the tone on the defensive end and get a couple of shots to go, it just breeds confidence and I think that's what we saw early."
 
NIU and Western Michigan (14-10, 8-7 MAC) traded threes to start the third quarter, with triples from Poisson and Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) giving the Huskies a 46-24 lead at the 7:51 mark. An Ahart three with 6:56 to go sparked a 13-2 NIU run, highlighted by five straight points from Davis, that gave the home side its largest lead of the game at 31, 59-28, with 3:34 remaining in the third. The Huskies shot 50 percent from the field in the quarter with four three-pointers to take a 61-32 lead into the fourth.
 
Davis led all players with 18 points and 10 rebounds, her 19^th double-double of the season and eighth in as many games. Marable set a new career-high with 16 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. Poisson was a perfect 3-for-3 from the three-point line in scoring 11 points. NIU outrebounded the Broncos 39-32 and had 34 points in the paint to Western Michigan's 22. Shafer led the Broncos with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists off the bench.
 
NIU is back at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 23 for a 6 p.m. matchup against Eastern Michigan. Tickets can be purchased online at NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
 
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