YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team shot 56 percent from the field in the final three quarters Wednesday night, erasing a seven-point deficit to win 78-70 over the Eastern Michigan Eagles at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.

Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led all players with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Her 23 points were a season-high while her nine boards tied a season-high. Koker was one of four Huskies to score in double figures Wednesday night as NIU snapped a five-game losing streak.

"She commanded the offense for us tonight," said head coach Lisa Carlsen of the Huskies' leading scorer. "We played her a lot of minutes and she was good in them. Anytime you can have her down the stretch you get a sense of leadership and poise."

NIU (8-10, 2-5 MAC) trailed Eastern Michigan 20-13 after the first quarter despite making 3-of-4 three-point attempts. The Eagles opened the second on an 8-2 run, punctuated by an Olivia Westphal three, to take a 28-15 lead with 7:13 to go until halftime. Lexi Carlsen (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) answered the Westphal three with two of her own, sparking a 12-2 Huskies run over 3:05 that got NIU within three, 30-27. The two teams traded baskets until Koker and Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO) scored the final four points of the half to tie the game at 37-37. The Huskies shot 71.4 percent in the second quarter.

With the game tied at 43-43 midway through the third, the Huskies went on a 6-1 run to take a 49-44 lead on two Carlsen free throws with 4:32 to play in the quarter. The lead grew to eight after a Carlsen three-pointer and a Koker layup made the score 54-46 at the 2:40 mark. Koker scored NIU's last six points in the third as NIU went up 58-52 going into the fourth.

The Huskies opened the fourth on an 8-2 run, highlighted by threes from Doyle and Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall), to go ahead 66-54 with 7:23 to play. NIU took its largest lead of the game with 4:05 to go when Carlsen's fifth three-pointer of the night put the Huskies up by 13, 72-59.

Eastern Michigan (1-16, 0-7 MAC) made one last run to get back in the game. Two Westphal threes helped key an 11-1 Eagles run over 2:09 that made the score 73-70 with 0:45 left. On NIU's next possession Koker stemmed the tide with a three-point play that put the Huskies back up by six, 76-70, with 0:20 to play. Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) salted the game away with two free throws late to make the final score 78-70.

"I was really proud of our resiliency," Carlsen said. "From the second quarter on we stayed locked in. I expected a lot from some people tonight because we didn't go particularly deep, but our starting five was the group that gave us the best chance to win and I'm really proud of them."

NIU shot 50.9 percent from the field Wednesday night and was 10-for-21 from the three-point arc. Carlsen was 5-for-7 from long range alone, tying a season-high with 17 points. Nickel scored a season-high 14 points, adding six rebounds and four assists. Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) had 11 points. The Huskies held Eastern Michigan to 29 percent from long range though the Eagles did shoot 49.1 percent from the field. NIU also outrebounded Eastern Michigan 32-26.

The Huskies return to the NIU Convocation Center on Saturday, Jan. 25 to take on the Mid-American Conference-leading Ball State Cardinals at 1 p.m. CT. The game is the first of a doubleheader with the NIU men's basketball team also playing Ball State at 3:30 p.m. For tickets, log on to NIUHuskies.com/tickets or call the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).

—NIU—