DeKALB – NIU women’s basketball suffered a 73-52 blowout Wednesday to the Miami University RedHawks, sparking a 4-game losing streak.
“Miami made it really difficult on the defensive end for us,” said women’s basketball head coach Lisa Carlsen. “We kind of let (Enjulina) Gonzalez get going, especially in the first half and then the second half, they really did a good job of sharing the basketball and knocking down some shots.”
The Huskies now fall to 1-4 in the Mid-American Conference (7-9 overall) three games removed from upsetting the University of Toledo, the MAC’s 2023-2024 regular season champions. Miami, on the other hand, improves to 10-5 on the season and 3-2 in the MAC.
Poor shooting plagued the Huskies, as NIU made 37% of its shots – 22.7% from three. In comparison, Miami was 43.3% from the field while shooting 34.8% from behind the arch.
Capitalizing on NIU’s stale offense, Miami sophomore guard Enjulina Gonzalez torched the Huskies. Gonzalez totaled 20 points in the first half alone – three short of NIU’s 23 first half points.
“We were trying to keep the ball out of her (Gonzalez’s) hands,” Carlsen said. “I thought for the most part we were able to do that.”
Gonzalez cooled down in the second half, though, scoring 5 points in the final 20 minutes. Gonzalez finished the game as the leading scorer with 25 points while also snagging 7 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal.
Graduate guard Chelby Koker led the Huskies in scoring with 14 points. Although she was one of the shortest players on the court, Koker also tacked on 5 rebounds.
“I credit my teammates for boxing out most of the time, like, if my person is running back, I have more opportunity to crash,” Koker said. “So I really give credit to my teammates.”
Another standout Huskie was graduate forward Brooke Stonebraker, who finished third on the team in scoring with 11 points. Stonebraker also added 8 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal.
“I try my best to do my role and that is to put the ball in the basket close to the basket and to make the right move and to trust my teammates,” Stonebraker said. “They (Stonebraker’s teammates) have trust in me to put the ball in the basket close to the rim. And then rebounds, that’s just my job every single game. I’m supposed to go in there and rebound every game and I have a high expectation for myself.”
The opening frame was back-and-forth, featuring a stark defensive effort from both teams which accounted for a low scoring first quarter.
While the Huskies struggled to reach the basket, Miami went on an 11-4 run late in the opening frame behind an efficient scoring performance by Gonzalez.
Behind Gonzalez, the RedHawks left the first frame with an 18-11 lead.
Miami’s success bled into the second quarter as the RedHawks held the lead for all 10 minutes. Miami pulled away late in the second quarter, earning a 13-point lead with just under two minutes to play – their largest until then.
Gonzalez’s dominance also continued, logging 12 second quarter points to help give Miami a 37-23 halftime lead.
NIU was unable to put a dent in Miami’s double-digit lead in the third quarter despite the RedHawks shooting only 28.6% – their lowest of the night. Although the Huskies shot 60% from the field, 10 turnovers proved costly.
The fourth quarter remained in favor of Miami, as the RedHawks created their first 20-point lead of the day midway through the fourth quarter. The RedHawks kept their foot on the gas while NIU pulled its starters, sealing the 21-point victory.
UP NEXT
In pursuit of their second conference win, Carlsen spoke on how NIU can bounce back in time for its next game.
“No doubt we’ll go back, we’ll look at the film, try and learn some things from this one,” Carlsen said. “But then tomorrow, we got to get right back at it in preparation for Bowling Green on Saturday.”
The Huskies return to action at 6 p.m. Saturday to face off against Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Streaming will be provided by ESPN+, live stats will be available through SIDEARM Sports and listening will be available via WDKB 94.9 FM.