CHICAGO - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team outscored the Chicago State Cougars 27-9 in the second quarter Wednesday night at Jones Convocation Center to take a 43-26 lead, going on to win 77-68.

Junior guard Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO) led all scorers with 21 points, going 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) added a season-high 17 points and eight rebounds, scoring nine points in the second half.

"She's one of those players that can create her own shot and she did that in spurts," said head coach Lisa Carlsen about NIU's leading scorer Wednesday night. "When we needed a big bucket she got it, and she did it from all three levels. Brooke got good position down low in the second and third quarters and impacted the game in many ways tonight."

Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) filled the box score with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Brooke Blumenfeld (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) was the fourth Huskie in double figures with 12 points.

NIU (2-2) fell behind 17-7 late in the first quarter as a Tania Allen three-point play capped a 7-0 Chicago State run. The Huskies scored the final nine points of the first quarter to get within one at 17-16. McCrea scored the first five on a three-pointer and two free throws with Doyle adding the last four. After the Cougars scored first in the second quarter, Blumenfeld made a layup that sparked a 15-0 NIU run over 4:06 that put the Huskies up 31-19. Blumenfeld had six points in the run.

Chicago State (0-7) cut the NIU lead to seven, 31-24, with 4:04 to go in the half but Stonebraker scored six straight points to spark an 11-0 run that put the Huskies ahead 42-24 with under two minutes to go until halftime. NIU shot 68.8 percent from the field in the quarter, holding Chicago State to 21.1 percent, to take a 43-26 lead at the interval.

"We were better defensively in the second half and we did a lot better against Chicago State's press," Carlsen said. "We got the opportunity to get out and go."

The Huskies took their largest lead of the game with 0:40 left in the third quarter when Doyle knocked down two free throws to put NIU up 20, 63-43. Chicago State responded with a 16-4 run over the next 4:01, punctuated by an Aiyanna Culver three, to get within eight at 67-59. The Cougars got as close as six with 2:26 to go but a McCrea three on NIU's next possession put the Huskies up nine, 75-66.

"I told the team after the game that we're too good individually to not expect more from ourselves," Carlsen said. "This will be a good game to look at from that aspect and our expectation to be better."

NIU shot 47.2 percent from the field for the game and was 6-for-14 from the three-point arc. Chicago State shot 37 percent but was 9-for-32 at the arc. The Huskies took 30 more free throws than the Cougars, going 21-for-37. NIU also held a 44-31 rebounding edge. Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall) matched Stonebraker with eight boards as Shannon Blacher (Burr Ridge, Ill./Montini) added a career-high seven. Josie Hill led Chicago State with 16 points and six rebounds.

The Huskies go back on the road on Sunday, Nov. 24 to take on the Milwaukee Panthers. Tip-off at the Klotsche Center is at 12 p.m.

—NIU—