DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team shot a season-high 46.8 percent from the field on Wednesday night in a 64-56 victory over the Western Michigan Broncos at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
"I was really proud of our effort for 40 minutes tonight," said head coach Jacey Brooks. "We talked at halftime about valuing each possession and taking better shots, and the offense really started flowing."
 
Freshman guard Emilie Sorensen (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) led all scorers with a season-high 22 points. She was 6-for-8 from the field, 3-for-4 from the three-point arc and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Nadechka Laccen (San Juan, Puerto Rico/St. Bonaventure) added 14 points, all of which came in the second half.
 
NIU (4-14, 2-5 MAC) used a 9-2 run in the third quarter to take a 35-30 lead at the 4:58 mark. Sorensen sparked the run with the Huskies' first three of the game and had the first five points of that stretch. Western Michigan closed within one on layups from D'Myjah Bolds and Kailey Starks, but another Sorensen three put NIU up 38-34 with 3:03 left in the quarter. Maria Serracanta (Sabadell, Spain/Mercer) and Laccen made back-to-back threes to give NIU a 44-36 lead with 1:30 to go in the third.
 
"We rode the momentum of good shooting in the quarter," said Sorensen as the Huskies were 4-for-5 from long range in the third. "That three from Nadechka really helped build that to keep us going to the win."
 
Western Michigan (5-12, 2-5 MAC) got within four early in the fourth quarter, but Sorensen's third three-pointer of the game and a Nevaeh Wingate (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John's) three-point play gave NIU its largest lead of the game 52-42 with 6:30 to play. The Broncos got as close as four points twice in the final quarter. The Huskies were 8-for-11 from the free throw line in the fourth to close out the game and win 64-56.
 
NIU shot 62.5 percent in the first quarter and took an 11-9 lead on a Sa'Mahn Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) jumper in the final seconds. Western Michigan responded in the second quarter, shooting 50 percent from the field and going 3-for-5 from the arc to tie the game at 26 at halftime.
 
The Huskies finished the night 6-for-15 from the three-point arc and outrebounded Western Michigan 36-23. Wingate and Serracanta each had a game-high eight rebounds, with Wingate adding eight points and a career-high seven assists. As a team, NIU had 15 assists on 22 made baskets.
 
Bolds led Western Michigan with 17 points off the bench as Alli Carlson added 11.
 
NIU goes on the road on Saturday, Jan. 24 to take on Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is at 12 p.m. CT.
 
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