DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team came back from down 12 points in the second quarter to the Akron Zips to force overtime on Saturday against the Akron Zips at the NIU Convocation Center, but the Zips held NIU to 2-for-8 from the field in extra time to pull away for a 75-68 victory.
 
"Basketball is a game of runs and Akron made one last one in overtime," said head coach Jacey Brooks. "I was proud of our effort to start the second half. We came out aggressively on offense and got stops on defense which helped our offensive flow. I liked our resolve to force overtime but we needed to finish better at the basket."
 
Junior forward Nevaeh Wingate (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John's) led the Huskies with 22 points, one shy of her career-high. She was 8-for-9 from the free throw line and added eight rebounds. Emilie Sorensen (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) was 6-for-8 from the foul line and added 15 points. Marta Hermoso (Seville, Spain/McNeese) scored a career-high 13 points for the second straight game and Maria Serracanta (Sabadell, Spain/Mercer) had 10 points and a game-high four assists and nine rebounds.
 
NIU (5-20, 2-11 MAC) scored the final four points of the first half on Wingate free throws to make the score 39-31 at the break. The Huskies scored seven of the first nine points in the third, sparked by a Sorensen three, to get within four at 42-38 with 7:45 left in the third. After a Ni'Rah Clark layup put the Zips up six, Hermoso knocked down her third three of the game to start an 8-2 run over 1:31 to get NIU tied 46-46 with 5:45 left in the quarter.
 
"We got back in the game at the defensive end," Brooks said. "They came out with the mentality of getting stops and it helped our offense flow. We were getting paint touches, distributing the basketball, hitting open shots. That's how we got back in the game."
 
Akron (6-19, 3-9 MAC) came back with a 7-2 run, highlighted by a Clark three-point play, over the next 2:18 to take a 53-48 lead. The Huskies scored the final six points of the quarter as two Serracanta free throws put NIU up 56-55. The Zips held NIU without a field goal for the first 8:06 of the fourth quarter, taking a 62-58 lead with 4:19 to play on an Izzy Callaway three. Nadechka Laccen (San Juan, Puerto Rico/St. Bonaventure) cut the lead in half with two free throws at the 3:46 mark. Wingate then tied the game at 62 with a layup with under two minutes to play. Akron took a 64-62 lead on a Natalie Johnson jumper with 1:27 to go, only for Laccen to make the game-tying basket with 0:14 left that forced overtime tied at 64.
 
NIU struck first in overtime on a Laccen layup from Serracanta to make the score 66-64 with 3:52 to play. Akron then went on a 7-0 run in the next 2:52 as a Johnson jumper put the Zips up 71-66 with 0:38 to go. The Huskies missed four straight shots before a Wingate layup got NIU within three, 71-68, with 0:34 left. NIU was forced to foul to save time, putting Akron in the bonus with 0:19 left. Clark made two free throws to give the Zips a five-point lead 73-68. The Zips forced a turnover on NIU's next possession to lock up the win.
 
"We wanted to treat overtime like a 5:00 game," said Brooks. "We had a good stretch and scored first but had a turnover that was a momentum shift. Akron made some tough shots and we missed some easy ones."
 
Akron shot 42.2 percent from the field while NIU shot 39.3 percent. The Huskies shot 86.4 percent from the free throw line, their second-best percentage of the season. NIU also outscored the Zips in the paint 30-28. Clark led the Zips with 21 points. Johnson had 18 points off the bench.
 
NIU goes on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 18 to take on Kent State. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. CT.
 
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