Huskies Falter In Fourth Quarter Against Miami
DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team rallied in the third quarter Wednesday night to take a 52-48 lead over the Miami RedHawks at the NIU Convocation Center Wednesday night, but it was the visitors that made the plays down the stretch to come up with the 74-69 win.
“We needed to be better in the first half,” said head coach Lisa Carlsen. “We did some nice things in the third quarter to take the lead and then they had an answer. We had key possessions that we needed to be better and more consistent.”
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) and Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) both had a team-high 20 points for the Huskies. Koker added a team-high four assists and game-high two steals. A’Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) had her 10th double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. It was her 41st career double-double, moving her into second place all-time at NIU for career double-doubles past NIU Hall of Famer Carol Owens.
NIU (10-6, 2-3 MAC) trailed Miami 35-27 at halftime, but got off to a fast start in the third quarter. Behind back-to-back Koker threes the Huskies cut the RedHawks’ lead in half, 38-34, with 8:44 to go in the quarter. A three-point play by Miami’s Maddi Cluse at the 5:59 mark put the RedHawks up seven, 43-36, but it was Miami’s last field goal for the next 5:06. Sparked by five straight points from Poisson, NIU went on a 9-2 run over 2:02 to tie the game at 45-45 with 3:57 to go. The Huskies took their first lead since the 7:31 mark of the first quarter on a Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) three with under two minutes to go, putting NIU up 50-48. Poisson followed with a layup to give the Huskies a 52-48 advantage.
Miami (7-11, 2-3 MAC) closed the quarter by scoring the last five points, taking a 53-52 lead into the fourth. The RedHawks then scored the first seven points of the final period, capped by an Ivy Wolf three, to go up 60-52 with 8:17 to play after a 12-0 run. Miami led 70-61 with 3:06 to go when the Huskies made one last charge. Davis made back-to-back layups to get NIU within five, 70-65 with 1:25 to go. The Huskies got a stop on defense on Miami’s next possession, with Poisson getting fouled by Peyton Scott on a rebound. With NIU in the bonus, Poisson made both free throws to make it a three-point game, 70-67, with just over one minute to play.
Koker stole the ball from Miami’s Katey Richason and called timeout with 0:26 left, setting up NIU with a chance to tie the game. The Huskies went for a quick layup, which went off the back iron with Miami getting the rebound to lock up the victory. Scott made two free throws after being fouled getting the board to make the score 72-67. Koker made a layup with 11 seconds left, however NIU had to foul to save time on the clock. Scott made two more foul shots to make the final score 74-69.
“We were good at times offensively but not good enough consistently,” Carlsen said. “It was the same with our defense and rebounding. Credit to Miami, they were the tougher team tonight. This is a veteran team that understands when we get good shots, we need to shoot a high percentage.”
Miami used a 10-2 run early in the first quarter to take a 12-5 lead with 3:53 to go. NIU closed the gap to four by the end of the quarter behind five points from Poisson, making the score 17-13 after 10 minutes of play. The RedHawks took their largest lead of the game with 1:00 to go in the second quarter when a Wolf three capped a 9-2 run that put Miami up 10, 35-25.
NIU shot 40.9 percent from the field to Miami’s 40.4 percent. The RedHawks were 21-for-25 from the free throw line, while NIU was just 10-for-14. Miami also held a 43-34 edge on the glass. Wolf led all scorers with 23 points. Scott added 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Huskies are on the road this Saturday, Jan. 21, to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Tip-off is at 12 p.m. CT.
–NIU–
