OXFORD, Ohio - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team shot 51.9 percent from the field Saturday afternoon but could not overcome a season-high 26 turnovers in an 89-79 loss to the Miami RedHawks at Millett Hall in the final game of the 2024-25 season.
Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) led NIU with a career-high 21 points, going 6-for-10 from the field with a season-high five three-pointers. She also had five rebounds, two assists and a team-high three steals.
"I'm really proud of the way Sid played today," Carlsen said. "She shot the ball with confidence and did some nice things on the defensive end. I'm happy for her especially to have that kind of a game going out."
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) closed her NIU career with her third straight 20-point game. Koker scored 16 of her 20 points in the second half, making 7-of-14 shots from the field. She finishes her career fourth in career scoring with 1,926 and fifth with 448 assists and 244 three-pointers.
NIU (13-17, 6-12 MAC) used an 8-0 run, bookended by threes from McCrea and
Lexi Carlsen (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore), to take an 11-5 lead with 7:38 to go in the opening quarter. The RedHawks responded with seven straight points capped by an Amber Tretter three to go up 12-11 at the 6:30 mark. Sparked by a
Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) jumper, the Huskies went on an 8-2 run over the next 4:27 to take a 19-14 lead. NIU was 5-for-7 from the three-point line in the first quarter and took a 24-18 lead into the second.
Miami (19-10, 11-7 MAC) opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 28-26 lead with 6:13 to go until halftime. The two sided traded baskets until the 3:36 mark with a McCrea triple tying the game at 35-35. Enjulina Gonzalez and Maya Chandler combined to score seven straight points for the RedHawks to put Miami up 42-35 with 1:30 to go. NIU made three free throws in the final 1:08 to go into the locker room down by four 42-38.
The Huskies were within five points with 7:53 to go in the third when Maya Chandler scored five straight points to start a 9-2 Miami run that put the RedHawks ahead 56-44 with 3:31 left. NIU got as close as seven points three times in the quarter, including with 0:45 on a Koker jumper that made the score 62-55. Tamar Singer answered that with a three to give Miami a 65-55 lead going into the fourth quarter. NIU shot 69.2 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, but only got as close as seven points. Miami was 6-for-10 from the field and 12-for-14 from the free throw line as the RedHawks went on to win 89-79.
"We shot the ball exceptionally well, but we were not able to handle it well," said head coach
Lisa Carlsen. "We did some things well offensively to score 79 points and shoot 51.9 percent from the field against the best scoring defense in the league. Miami made it difficult on us on the bounce. They're great at the point of attack and in the gaps. We just didn't have the possessions late to counterbalance the turnovers we had."
The Huskies made 10 three-pointers on Saturday and shot 38.5 percent from long range. NIU also held a 29-22 rebounding edge. Stonebraker led NIU with seven rebounds and added 13 points. Miami scored 29 points off of the 26 Huskies turnovers. Chandler led all scorers with 26 points as Gonzalez had 22 points, five rebounds and six steals.
—NIU—
