DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team led by one point going into the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon against the Western Michigan Broncos but was outscored 14-9 in the final 10:00 as the visitors took the win 61-57 at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
"I think it was a typical MAC [Mid-American Conference] game where every possession felt like it was the final possession of the game," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "You have to give Western Michigan credit. They were disruptive on the defensive end and we knew that coming in. There are some possessions we want back and, once we lost the lead, they did a great job of making things difficult".
 
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led NIU with 14 points and five assists, adding four rebounds. Lexi Carlsen (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, which were also a season-high. Brooke Blumenfeld (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) had 10 points for her third double-figure scoring effort in the last four games.
 
NIU (7-8, 1-3 MAC) led 48-47 going into the fourth quarter. The Broncos scored eight of the first 10 points to take a 55-50 lead on a Maggie Stutelberg three-pointer with 8:07 to go. The Huskies cut the deficit to three at the 5:13 mark on a Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) layup but Alli Carlson put Western Michigan back up five with a basket with 4:08 remaining to make the score 57-52.
 
The Huskies went over four minutes without a field goal before Carlsen made her third three-pointer of the game with 0:40 left to make the score 57-55. NIU nearly got a stop on Western Michigan's next possession by forcing a missed layup from Marina Asensio. Lauren Audino got the offensive rebound and scored with 0:06 to go to put the Broncos up four, 59-55. NIU got within two, 59-57, on a Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall) putback with 1.7 seconds left. The Huskies were forced to foul to save time, sending Asensio to the free throw line. Asensio made both free throws to make the final score 61-57.
 
Western Michigan (6-8, 3-1 MAC) led 5-4 with 6:52 to go in the first quarter before NIU went on a 9-0 run to take a 13-5 advantage. Koker made a three in that run as Blumenfeld, Carlsen and Stonebraker each added two points. The Broncos made three three-pointers in the last 1:36 of the first with Hannah Spitzley banking one in at the buzzer to get Western Michigan within two, 16-14, at the end of the opening quarter.
NIU led by as much as five points in the second quarter before an Evyn Carrier layup sparked an 8-2 Western Michigan run that gave the Broncos a 27-25 lead with 2:05 to go before halftime. The Huskies responded with a Blumenfeld basket and a Carlsen triple to go up 30-27. The Broncos got the last basket of the half on an Asensio layup with 0:16 left to make the halftime score 30-29.
 
The Huskies shot 38.3 percent from the field but were just 5-for-25 from the three-point line. Western Michigan made 11-of-29 three-point attempts with six from Spitzley who scored a game-high 20 points. NIU outrebounded Western Michigan 42-36 and scored 16 points off 15 Broncos turnovers.
 
"We did some nice things defensively today, but at the end of the day we have to really maximize every possession because there are some we definitely want back," said Carlsen.
 
NIU is back at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Jan. 15 to take on the Miami RedHawks at 6 p.m. for Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night.  Tickets are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com and by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225).
 
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