Miami Rallies In Fourth Quarter For 61-56 Win Over NIU
OXFORD, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team was locked in a defensive battle against the Miami RedHawks at Millett Hall Wednesday night, with the RedHawks making some key baskets late to come away with a 61-56 victory.
The Huskies built a 29-24 lead at halftime, holding Miami to 25 percent from the field and 3-for-16 from three-point range. Miami got an early three from Ivy Wolf to start the third quarter, but NIU answered with a 6-2 run over 2:04 to go up 35-29 on an Emily Meinert layup (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College). The RedHawks came back with a 9-2 run capped by a Wolf layup that gave Miami a 38-37 lead with 2:31 to go in the third. NIU and Miami traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter as A’Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) beat the quarter buzzer to give the Huskies a 43-42 lead going into the fourth.
Miami (6-7, 2-2 MAC) scored five unanswered points on a Maddi Cluse three-point play and a Peyton Scott jumper to take a 47-45 lead with 7:17 to play in the game. Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) made a three to start a 7-2 Huskies run that put NIU back ahead 52-49 with 4:31 remaining. Miami and NIU then traded baskets, with threes from Cluse and Edyn Battle answering a Poisson layup and allowing the RedHawks to take a 55-54 lead with 3:01 to go.
NIU (4-9, 1-4 MAC) took back the advantage with a pair of A’Jah Davis free throws at the 2:41 mark, giving the Huskies a 56-55 lead. With under 2:00 to go, Cluse drove the lane and scored to give Miami a 57-56 lead. The Huskies had two chances to take back the lead, but were instead forced to foul to save time on the clock in the final minute. Battle made two foul shots with 20 seconds left in regulation to give the RedHawks a 59-56 lead. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) attempted a three with 12 seconds left that was off the mark, but Miami fumbled the rebound giving NIU one last chance to force overtime. Miami forced a turnover and made two free throws in the last second to make the final score 61-56.
“When its a possession-for-possession game like it was late, you can’t give that many possessions away,” said head coach Lisa Carlsen. “That was happening throughout the course of the game, not just late and we were not able to extend our lead.”
After being held to seven points in NIU’s last game Saturday against Toledo, Koker came alive in the first quarter Wednesday night. Koker scored the Huskies’ first points of the game on an elbow jumper 44 seconds into the game, then scored NIU’s last eight points of the quarter to put the Huskies up 12-11 after 10 minutes of play. The Huskies’ defense held Miami to 23.5 percent from the field in the quarter.
NIU scored the first five points of the second quarter, as a Mikayla Brandon (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) three and a pair of Davis free throws put the Huskies up 17-11 with 8:00 left until halftime. The Huskies’ held the RedHawks to one field goal in the first 6:30 of the quarter. NIU went on an 8-2 run halfway through the second, with a pair of Poisson three-pointers giving the Huskies a 27-17 lead with 3:29 left. Miami responded with a 7-2 run to end the half as layups from Scott and Wolf cut NIU’s lead in half, 29-24, at the break.
“Defensively, we did some good things and gave ourselves a chance with some stops,” Carlsen added. “We did a decent job on the glass. We have got to figure out a way not just to take care of the basketball but to be able to score. We’ve struggled with that the last couple games and we have to get that figured out.”
Koker led all scorers with 20 points, her fourth 20-point effort of the season. She now has 978 points for her career putting her 22 away from 1,000. Poisson had 11 points and made three three-pointers. Davis had double-digit rebounds for the sixth consecutive game, pulling down a game-high 11 to go with eight points and four assists. Brandon collected 10 rebounds as NIU outrebounded Miami 39-33. Miami shot 37.3 percent in the game to NIU’s 37 percent. Wilf led the RedHawks with 18 points and four assists.
NIU heads to Ypsilanti, Mich. to take on Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 1 p.m. CT.
The Huskies are back at the Convocation Center on Monday, Jan. 24 to face the Akron Zips at 6 p.m. Huskie Flex Plans are now available for the 2021-22 basketball season. Purchase vouchers for $6 each and use them throughout the season to attend Huskie men’s and women’s basketball home games. Simply redeem vouchers for tickets at the box office prior to the game. Tickets can be purchased online at NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
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