NIU women’s basketball (12-11, 4-8 MAC) couldn’t pull it off against Ohio University (5-18, 3-9 MAC) in an electric matchup coming down to the last second.

TROUBLE IN THE LAST FEW SECONDS

In the midday contest against Ohio University Saturday, the Huskies fell short losing 71-72. The matchup was close the entire game, with neither team holding a lead larger than six points. The game came down to a last-second bucket from sophomore guard Yaya Felder of Ohio. The Huskies had only 1.6 seconds to get the win, but senior forward A’Jah Davis was not able to connect on the layup. 

“We’re, you know, an inch away from tipping the ball out of bounds,” NIU women’s basketball head coach Lisa Carlsen said. “The ball just sits on the rim and rolls out. You know, I feel bad for our kids, you know, it was a hard fought ballgame.” 

DOMINANCE IN THE PAINT

Despite the loss, an impressive performance from Davis kept the Huskies in the game. Davis scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. 

“Yeah, she was huge for us. We knew that we had to do a better job of making sure that she got touches,” Carlsen said.

Davis’ dominating performance is no surprise, as she averages 15.3 points and 12.1 rebounds on the season. Since getting injured in the Jan. 25 matchup vs. Kent State University, Davis has averaged 17.8 points and 16.8 rebounds. 

“Just really working in a training room and then being patient,” Davis said. “I mean, even before that (injury), that was always my mindset.” 

INCONSISTENCY FROM 3

The Huskies only sank seven three-point shots, shooting 28% from behind the arch, most of the shots coming in the second half. Poor shooting in the first half hurt the Huskies greatly. Graduate student guard Janae Poisson shot 1-for-6, redshirt sophomore guard Sidney McCrea shot 1-for-3 and senior guard Chelby Koker shot 3-for-7 in the first half. 

Regardless of the slow start from the three, Poisson was able to make four three-pointers in the second half. 

“When other people hit the shot, you just have a little mental shift,” Poisson said. “Shooting is contagious, so I definitely think it had an impact for sure.”

LOOKING FORWARD

The Huskies were only able to make half of their free throws, and did not hold the rebound differential (+1). 

“When you get yourself, you work so hard to draw the foul and get yourself to the foul line,” Carlsen said. “We have to have more success there. And that’s the tough thing throughout the ballgame that we’re going to look at.”

Despite errors throughout the game, the Huskies’ bright spot was the turnover battle. Averaging over 14 turnovers a game this season, the Huskies recorded only five turnovers in the entirety of Saturday’s game. 

The Huskies look to bounce back on Wednesday, when they’ll face off against Bowling Green State University at 6 p.m. in Bowling Green, Ohio.