DeKALB, IL – In a game that featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes, it was the Central Michigan Chippewas who took the lead in the final 30 seconds Saturday against the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team to take a 75-70 win at the NIU Convocation Center.
 
"This is a tough one," said head coach Jacey Brooks following the game. "I thought we played pretty well. The difference in the game was the offensive rebounds and second chance points, as well as our performance at the free throw line. It hurts because we played well enough to win but didn't make the plays down the stretch."
 
NIU (4-17, 2-8 MAC) set season-highs in points, three-pointers, assists and field goal percentage on Saturday. The Huskies shot 51.0 percent from the floor, made nine threes and assisted on 17 of 25 field goals. Freshman Emilie Sorensen (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) led the Huskies with 18 points, making four threes while adding three rebounds and two steals. Nadechka Laccen (San Juan, Puerto Rico/St. Bonaventure) added 17 points, four assists and four steals as both players played all 40 minutes.
 
Nevaeh Wingate (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John's) and Maria Serracanta (Sabadell, Spain/Mercer) both had 10 points for NIU. Wingate added a game-high five steals as Serracanta led all players with six assists.
 
The Huskies trailed 29-28 at halftime but used an 8-1 run to start the third quarter to take a 36-30 lead. NIU got a three from Sorensen to go up 33-29 at the 7:57 mark as a pair of Laccen free throws with 6:23 left put NIU up by six. The lead grew to seven with 4:30 to play in the third when two more Laccen foul shots made the score 41-34. NIU was up 46-40 when a Lilah Turnbull three sparked a 7-2 Chippewas run that got the visitors within one, 48-47, with 1:03 left in the third. A Madi Morson three tied the game at 50-50 but Wingate split two free throws in the final five seconds to give the Huskies a slim 51-50 advantage.
 
Central Michigan (13-7, 7-3 MAC) took a 57-55 lead with 6:48 to go when a Morson layup capped a 7-2 Chippewas run. The Huskies used a 7-2 run of their own, highlighted by Sorensen's fourth three of the game, to take back the lead and go up 65-62 with 2:38 remaining. The Chippewas then got a three from Jayda Mosley and a Turnbull jumper to take a 67-65 lead with 1:33 left in regulation. Sorensen came back and tied the game 67-67 with a layup with 0:41 left. On Central Michigan's next possession Morson converted a three-point play with 0:30 left to give the visitors a 70-67 lead. The Huskies were down 71-68 with 0:25 to go when Ayanna Darrington got a steal and found Turnbull who was fouled. Turnbull split two free throws, with the second one missed. Central Michigan got the ball out of bounds and NIU was forced to foul the rest of the way.
 
"There's a lot of positives we can take from this game," Brooks said. "We competed for 40 minutes. We shot the ball really well and forced 27 turnovers. The players bought into the gameplan but when it came down to it, we couldn't keep Central Michigan off the offensive glass."
 
The Huskies raced out to a 9-3 lead in the first quarter and led by as much as nine when a Laccen three put NIU up 16-7 with 3:36 to go in the opening quarter. Central Michigan closed the quarter on a 7-0 run, with five points from Darrington, to make the score 16-14. The Chippewas went on a 12-2 run in the second to take a 26-20 lead, their largest of the game, with 3:14 left in the half. The Huskies took back the lead as Sorensen and Sa'Mahn Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) combined for a 7-0 run that put NIU up 27-26 with 1:16 to play. Morson made a jumper with 0:23 left to make the halftime score 29-28 Central Michigan.
 
The Chippewas outrebounded NIU 42-17 and scored 22 points off 20 offensive rebounds. The Huskies scored 26 points off of 27 Central Michigan turnovers. CMU shot 49.1 percent from the field and was 16-for-26 from the free throw line. Morson led all scorers with 26 points, Darrington had a double-double of 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
NIU goes on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 4 to take on Ball State. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. CT at Worthen Arena.
 
--NIU--