DeKalb Times

A 22-10 third quarter helped propel the Western Michigan Broncos past the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team 79-70 Wednesday night at University Arena.

Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) led the Huskies with 18 points off the bench, making four three-pointers. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) had 17 points, six rebounds and six assists. Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) scored a season-high 11 points.

Western Michigan (6-8, 1-2 MAC) opened the game on a 5-0 run before the Huskies got on the board at the 6:19 mark on a pair of Hunter free throws. Those two foul shots started a 9-0 NIU run, capped by an Emily Meinert (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College) layup, to put the Huskies up four with 3:38 left in the first. The Broncos answered with the next seven points, starting with a Maddie Watters three, to take a 12-9 lead with 2:20 left in the opening quarter. The Huskies cut the deficit to two by the end of the quarter as baskets from A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) and Emma Carter (Bristol, Vt./Franklin Pierce) made the score 15-13.

NIU (9-5, 1-2 MAC) tied the game at 21 at the 7:40 mark of the second behind threes from Poisson and Koker and another Carter basket. Western Michigan then went on 9-0 run over the next 2:32, highlighted by five points from Taylor Williams, to go up 30-21 with 5:08 left until halftime. The Huskies cut the deficit to three, 30-27, on back-to-back threes from Koker and Tara Stauffacher (Columbus, Wis./Wisconsin) with 3:50 left in the half. The two teams traded baskets the rest of the half with Western Michigan taking a 36-33 lead into the locker room.

The Broncos opened the second half on an 8-0 run, with Williams and Lauren Ross combining for all eight points, to take a 44-33 lead at the 7:08 mark. After a Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) three got NIU within eight, 46-38, Western Michigan went on a 10-2 run over 2:55 to take its largest lead of 16, 56-40, with 3:51 left in the third. The Huskies started the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run, with threes from Koker and Poisson, to get within eight 60-52 with 7:29 to go in the game.  The Broncos then pulled away again as a Hannah Spitzley three and Ross layup helped put Western Michigan up 13, 67-54, with 5:45 to go. NIU would only get as close as eight points the rest of the way.

"You have the play with the same sense of urgency for the whole game and you can't let good players get comfortable," said head coach Lisa Carlsen after the game. "I loved our fight in the fourth quarter but that's not going to be good enough, especially on the road. I thought we had some people step up tonight like Grace and Janae who did some really good things out there. There's things we have to learn and be better at."

NIU finished the game shooting 35.1 percent from the field with 11 made three-pointers. The Huskies outrebounded Western Michigan 46-35, led in part by Davis' 14 rebounds and Marable's career-high 10. The Broncos shot 46.7 percent from the floor and forced 17 NIU turnovers. Ross led all scorers with 31 points as Williams had 23 points and 15 rebounds.

The Huskies return to the NIU Convocation Center on Saturday, Jan. 14 to face the Ohio Bobcats at 1 p.m. CT in the first game of a doubleheader with the NIU men's basketball team. For tickets, log on to NIUHuskies.com or call the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225). General Admission tickets are $6 with reserved seats at $8. 

Original source can be found here