DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team scored 25 points off of 29 Benedictine turnovers Wednesday night in a 74-47 win in exhibition action at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
"It felt good to put the uniforms on and play under the lights for the first time," said head coach Jacey Brooks after her first game in charge of the Huskies on the home floor. "There's some kinks that we need to work out, but I saw some really good things from a majority of our players."
 
Junior forward Nevaeh Wingate (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John's) led all players with 19 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Wingate was 6-for-12 from the field and 7-for-11 from the free throw line. Freshman Sa'Mahn Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) had 14 points off the bench, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. Teresa Mbemba (Benguela, Angola/Presbyterian) had 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
"Nevaeh and Teresa are so versatile on both ends of the floor," Brooks said. "They can score and defend both in the paint and on the perimeter. We have to continue to put them in the best position to be successful and continue to work on finishing around the basket. They also did a great job tonight of getting to the free throw line."
 
NIU opened the game on a 15-0 run in the first 5:15. Wingate scored the first seven points, then Nadechka Laccen (San Juan, Puerto Rico/St. Bonaventure) added the next four at the free throw line. Benedictine got on the board with 4:24 to play in the first quarter when Alexis Schueler split two free throws. The Huskies held the Eagles without a field goal until the 1:33 mark, building a 22-2 lead as a Cyra Conwell (Chicago, Ill./Butler College Prep) layup put NIU up 20. NIU held Benedictine to 2-for-9 from the field in the first quarter to take a 24-9 lead.
 
"We did a great job at the start of the game being able to set the tone defensively," Brooks said. "The girls did a great job of pressuring the ball. We were getting stops but it was hard to get into a flow offensively with all the fouls being called. I always talk defense first and I think that helped us get some offensive momentum early."
 
Benedictine closed within 12 points midway through the second quarter as an Abby Drendel layup made the score 30-12. Drendel got the Eagles as close as 11 before NIU closed the first half on an 8-0 run, getting three-point plays from Wingate and Laccen to take a 39-20 halftime lead.
 
The Eagles only got as close as 14 points in the second half as a Kaitlyn Sidlo three-pointer early in the fourth made the score 53-39. Lexi Kerstein (Riverwoods, Ill./Vermont) then sparked a 12-0 NIU run with five straight points as the Huskies pulled away for a 65-39 lead with 4:33 to go. Johnson had the last four points of that run. She also gave the Huskies their largest lead of the game when her layup at the 1:24 mark put NIU up 29, 71-42.
 
The Huskies shot 38.3 percent from the field as Benedictine shot 32.7 percent. NIU was 24-for-33 from the foul line Wednesday night with the Eagles only going 5-for-12. The Huskies had 38 points in the paint and 14 second chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.
 
NIU opens the 2025-26 season at Southern Miss on Monday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. The home opener is on Friday, Nov. 7 against Milwaukee at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. Season Tickets for the 2025-26 season start at $35 for general admission and $50 in reserved sections. Courtside seats and Nelson Suite access is also available. For more information, contact the NIU Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225) weekdays between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or via email at huskiestickets@niu.edu.
 
--NIU--