NIU women’s basketball (13-12, 6-7 MAC) cruised past the University at Buffalo Bulls (14-10, 7-6 MAC) by a score of 66-57, leading for 35 minutes of game time in a revenge win.
Five weeks after losing to the Bulls at home, the Huskies bit back to split the season series with Buffalo, the fourth-ranked team in the MAC.
Buffalo redshirt senior guard Chellia Watson, the MAC’s leading scorer and the fourth-highest scorer in the nation, was held to 16 points on 26 shot attempts in Wednesday’s loss. Watson scored 27 at the Convocation Center on Jan. 17.
“I think our guards did a great job on Watson,” said senior forward Brooke Stonebraker. “She scored a lot more on us last game, and we contained her pretty well. That was a big emphasis in practice this week.”
The Huskies blocked a season-high six shots as the Bulls posted their fourth-lowest shooting percentage of the season with 34.3%.
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
Effective passing and short-range shooting fueled the Huskies, scoring 34 points in the paint as they shot 44.8% from the field and recorded 17 assists.
Senior guard Jayden Marable accounted for 9 assists, a career-high, as well as scoring 9 points and grabbing 2 steals.
“A lot of times Buffalo put two on the ball, so we knew that I had opportunities to create for the post players, as well as our shooters,” Marable said. “So, just using a lot of ball screens to get those looks for us was big.”
Scoring 15 points and pulling down 13 rebounds, Stonebraker nabbed her third-consecutive double-double – her eighth on the season. Stonebraker also tacked on 2 blocks.
TAKE TWO
The Huskies are now 2-0 this season in MAC rematches after beating Eastern Michigan University and Buffalo back-to-back. Both teams defeated the Huskies in their first meeting.
“It’s been a lot of fun, really, in preparation for teams that we’ve seen the second time,” said NIU women’s basketball head coach Lisa Carlsen. “I think this is a group that very much is like a sponge. They’re ready for as much information as we can throw at them, and they continue to grow through that.”
The Huskies’ next three opponents defeated NIU earlier this season.
UP NEXT
The Huskies return 1 p.m. Saturday to the Convocation Center to face Bowling Green State University. Live streaming will be available on ESPN+ and live stats will be found on SIDEARM Stats.
