EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team was within two points of the Evansville Purple Aces at halftime on Sunday but shot under 20 percent from the field in the third as Evansville pulled away for a 65-52 win at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

The Huskies finished the game shooting 33.3 percent while the Purple Aces shot 42.9 percent. NIU had three players score in double figures, led by Nevaeh Wingate (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John's) and Julia Sollberger (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap) who each had 12 points. Wingate also had six rebounds. Sollberger was 5-for-10 from the field for her career-high in scoring while playing a career-high 30 minutes off the bench.

NIU's (2-5) defense was stingy early, holding Evansville to two points in the first 5:55 of the game. The Huskies got out to a 7-2 lead in that stretch with Wingate scoring four points. The Purple Aces then held NIU to one basket in the last four minutes of the opening quarter, going on an 8-2 run over the last 4:05 to take a 10-9 lead. Breaunna Ward scored the last six points of the quarter to put Evansville ahead.

Evansville (2-5) took a five-point lead with 8:11 to go in the second quarter as a Camryn Runner three-pointer, the first of the game for either side, put the Purple Aces up 15-10. Sparked by a Sa'Mahn Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) layup, the Huskies went on a 9-2 run over the next over 3:03 to take back the lead, 19-17, at the 4:47 mark. NIU led 24-22 with 1:22 to go in the half before the Purple Aces scored the final four points at the free throw line to take a 26-24 lead at the break.

In the third quarter it was the Evansville defense that stepped up, holding NIU to 2-for-12 from the field. Georgia Ferguson and Logan Luebbers Palmer scored in the first 90 seconds of the quarter to put the Purple Aces up by six, 30-24. After a Wingate layup got the Huskies within four, Luebbers Palmer scored 10 straight points capped off by a three-point play at the 2:58 mark that put Evansville up 40-26. The Purple Aces led by as much as 15 in the quarter before Marta Hermoso (Seville, Spain/McNeese) beat the buzzer with a running layup to make the score 44-31. The Huskies only got as close as 11 points in the fourth quarter. Sollberger scored six of her 12 points in the final quarter.

Luebbers Palmer led all scorers with 19 points. Runner added 10 points with six rebounds and a game-high five assists. Evansville outrebounded NIU 42-37 with the Huskies having 14 offensive rebounds to the Purple Aces' 11. NIU had 13 turnovers to Evansville's 12.

The Huskies continue their current six-game road swing on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at Indiana State. Tip-off at the Hulman Center is at 6 p.m. CT with the game broadcast locally on 94-9 WDKB and on ESPN+.

—NIU—