EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team battled back from two eight-point second half deficits to take a 60-58 lead with 2:06 to go Thursday night against the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles, but USI made one last run to take a 66-60 win at Screaming Eagles Arena.
NIU (0-3) trailed 52-44 with 7:51 to play after an Addy Blackwell three put the Eagles up 52-44. The Huskies came back with a
Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) layup and back-to-back threes from
Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) and
Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) to draw level at 52-52 at the 6:34 mark of the fourth. The Huskies took the lead with 2:46 to go as back-to-back Marable layups made the score 58-56.
Southern Indiana (3-0) tied the score at 58 on a Vanessa Shafford jumper with 2:22 to go. On NIU's next possession,
Kortney Drake (Wilton, Iowa/Kirkwood CC) crashed the glass and was fouled as she scored on a putback layup that put the Huskies up 60-58 with 2:06 left. The Eagles went back down the floor and scored on a Tori Handley layup to tie the game 60-60 with 1:41 to go. After trading stops, it was USI that took the lead on a Shafford three with 0:22 left making the score 63-60. The Huskies had a chance to tie with 0:15 left but a Hunter corner three rimmed out. NIU was forced to foul to save time on the clock. USI made three free throws late to get win 66-60.
"I was really proud of our fight tonight," said head coach
Lisa Carlsen. "We had some good looks that we had to knock down. They got some key offensive boards late. In a two-possession game it can come down to things like that."
In a back-and-forth game the whole way, NIU and Southern Indiana traded the lead four times in the final 4:00 of the first quarter as an Ali Saunders layup with 0:51 left gave the Eagles a 12-11 lead. Drake erased that lead with a three to start the second quarter, putting the Huskies ahead 14-12. A Shafford three-point play sparked a 12-3 run by USI that put the hosts up 24-17 with 4:37 to play until halftime. McCrea made two key threes late in the second to get NIU within one, 26-25, but a Madi Webb lay-in gave Southern Indiana a 28-25 halftime edge.
The Huskies chipped away at the Eagles' lead in the third and tied the game with 4:39 left in the quarter. Sparked by threes from Drake and
Tara Stauffacher (Columbus, Wis./Wisconsin), NIU went on a 10-2 run over 2:44 to tie the game at 37-37. NIU took the lead at the 2:52 mark on a Hunter three and a
Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) layup to go ahead 42-39. Southern Indiana closed the quarter on a 9-2 run to go up 48-44 heading into the fourth.
NIU shot 38.7 percent from the field for the game and made 9-of-24 three-point attempts. Marable led the Huskies with 14 points and five assists. Drake and McCrea each scored 12 points and were a combined 6-for-11 from long range. Stonebraker had seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Shafford led all players with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Addy Blackwell added 14 points, going 4-for-6 from the three-point line. USI held a slim 39-37 edge on the glass and forced 13 NIU turnovers.
"This isn't one that we're going to hang our heads about," Carlsen said. "We get a chance to finally play at home and our team is looking forward to that."
NIU hosts Lindenwood in its home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center. It is Military Appreciation Night with veteran and active military members receiving free admission with their military ID while their guests can receive $5 tickets. For ticket information, including season tickets and the "Run It Back With The Pack" ticket, log on to NIUHuskies.com/myhuskies or call the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
—NIU—
