DeKALB – A halftime revival sent NIU women’s basketball (9-8, 3-3 MAC) soaring over Central Michigan University (2-13, 1-5 MAC) by a score of 70-57, cutting off a losing streak and putting the Huskies back above .500.
The game shifted in favor of CMU after a 16-1 run by the Chippewas late in the second quarter put them up 35-28 after 20 minutes of play.
The Huskies raced into control with a 25-12 third-quarter performance, swinging the pendulum back in their favor and keeping it there through the final buzzer.
NIU led the Chippewas in rebounds 42-32 on the day. CMU leads the MAC in rebounds per game.
NIU women’s basketball head coach Lisa Carlsen gave credit to the team’s rebounding in the win.
“I think anytime you can beat Central on the glass, you’ve done some good things,” Carlsen said. “We talked about that the last couple of days, making sure we do what we can to gain rebound.”
BLUMENFELD’S BIG DAY
Redshirt freshman forward Brooke Blumenfeld made her first career start, lighting up the scoreboard with a team-leading 18 points.
“My teammates are the reason that was able to happen,” Blumenfeld said. “Jayden looked up in transition, we were pushing the ball and things were just open.”
Carlsen said she was excited to see the six-foot freshman be as productive as she knew possible.
“I’m super proud of her (Blumenfeld) for sure,” Carlsen said. “She’s put in a lot of work to get to this point, but I’m not surprised by her production, and she knows that that’s what we expect from her.”
INSPIRATION FOR HUNTER
Redshirt senior guard Grace Hunter carried the three-point attack, going 3-4 from deep as the rest of the team went 0-8. Hunter’s 11 point-performance was her highest since the season-opener.
Hunter said she drew motivation from fans in the crowd before tipoff.
“Whenever the national anthem started, I saw some little girls in the corner, and I had to take a moment to realize this is so much bigger than me,” Hunter said. “That kind of lit a fire under me to just play for something bigger than myself and stop wallowing in fatigue.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies play their next game on the road at 6 p.m. Wednesday against the University of Toledo, who ranks second in the MAC. Audio streaming will be available on The Varsity Network. Live stats will be found on SIDEARM Stats.
“We’re gonna give ourselves 24 hours,” Carlsen said. “We’re gonna enjoy this one tonight. We’re gonna be proud of the response that we had, and we’ll get back to it on Monday in preparation for Toledo.”
