DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team erased a 21-point deficit in the second half Saturday to force overtime against the Bowling Green Falcons at the NIU Convocation Center, then went 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the second overtime to pull away for an 84-77 win on Senior Day.
 
"Our ability to stay together and fight for every possession, in the fourth quarter and then in both overtimes, was very impressive," said head coach Lisa Carlsen as the Huskies snapped a three-game losing streak. "As a coach you're proud of everyone who stepped on the floor but what sticks out the most is our ability to win this one for the team but also for the seniors."
 
Sixth-year guard Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led all scorers with a season-high 28 points, with 23 coming in the second half and overtimes. Koker was 8-for-18 from the field and 11-for-12 from the free throw line. Lexi Carlsen (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) scored a career-high 19 points off the bench with four three-pointers. Senior Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) had 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
NIU (13-15, 6-10 MAC) was down 52-31 with 3:09 to play in the third quarter. A Koker jumper at the 2:52 mark of the third sparked a 10-2 Huskies run that got NIU within 13, 54-41. Brooke Blumenfeld (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) had six points in that stretch including the last four. The Falcons led 62-48 midway through the fourth quarter when the Huskies went on a 14-0 run over 4:31 to tie the game. Carlsen and Koker combined for the first nine points of that spurt that got NIU within three, 62-59, with 1:47 to play in regulation. With just over a minute to go McCrea knocked down her third three of the game to tie the game at 62.
 
Bowling Green (16-12, 9-7 MAC) took back the lead with 0:41 left on a Johnea Donahue layup that put the Falcons up 64-62. NIU missed a shot to tie it but forced a Bowling Green turnover to get the ball back with 0:10 to go. The Huskies got a three-point look from McCrea that was off the mark, but Koker got the rebound and putback before the horn sounded to tie the game at 64-64 and force overtime. NIU was 10-for-13 from the field in the fourth quarter.
 
"In the timeout before the play I told the wings to be ready to shoot because I knew they would cover the paint," Koker said. "Sid had a good look and I thought it would drop but I stayed with it and happened to be in the right place at the right time."
 
Both teams scored six points in overtime as the game headed to a second extra session tied at 70. The Falcons took a 72-70 lead on two early Erika Porter free throws. The Huskies responded with baskets from Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) and Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO) to take a 74-72 lead with 3:40 to play. Bowling Green then got a three-pointer from Amy Velasco to go up 75-74.
 
That was the Falcons' last lead of the game. NIU went on an 8-0 run, all from the free throw line, to take an 82-75 advantage with 0:13 to go. Koker made six consecutive free throws in the final 0:30 to put the game away.
 
NIU shot 71.4 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and both overtimes, going 11-for-11 from the free throw line. The Huskies finished the game shooting 43.8 percent from the floor and 90.5 percent from the free throw line. NIU last erased a 20-point deficit and won on Feb. 3, 2021, a 79-78 win over Bowling Green.
 
Prior to the game, NIU honored Koker, McCrea, Stonebraker and Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall) for Senior Day. Stonebraker had nine points and three rebounds on Saturday as Nickel had two points, five rebounds and two assists.
 
"This senior group wants to play basketball together as long as they can," Carlsen said. "All of them stepped up in a big way and kept us alive in the [MAC Tournament] hunt."
 
Donahue led five Falcons in double figure scoring with 18 points. Paige Kohler had 17 points and six rebounds, playing all 50 minutes.
 
NIU's win, along with losses by Central Michigan and Western Michigan, put the Huskies a game back of both the Chippewas and Broncos who are tied for seventh in the Mid-American Conference standings at 7-9 with two games to go in the regular season.
 
The Huskies host Toledo on Wednesday, March 5 for the final home game of the regular season. Tip-off at the Convocation Center is at 6 p.m. CT.
 
--NIU--