NIU women’s basketball missed many opportunities late-game, failing to secure a fourth-straight victory while falling to the University of Ohio Bobcats by a score of 74-70 on Wednesday.
“There were times where we didn’t do a great job of taking care of the basketball,” said NIU women’s basketball head coach Lisa Carlsen. “It’s a tough one to swallow, because we’re gonna have possessions that we want back. And you know, I told the kids after the game, obviously really proud of our fight, but we got to put a full 40 together, and sometimes some of those key possessions will come back to bite you.”
With this loss the Huskies fall to 12-13 overall, 5-8 in the Mid-American Conference and good for ninth place in the conference standings. Ohio improves to 5-19 overall, 3-10 in the MAC.
The Huskies have shot 47.6% from the field and 44.7% from the three-point line during their last three games, accounting for the best three-point percentage in the MAC.
The Huskies were not successful from three against Ohio, especially in the final stretches of this game. The Huskies shot 38.9% from three in the first half, but finished the game regressing to 30%.
Junior guard Alecia Doyle was the star of the show tonight for the Huskies, playing 38 minutes and finishing with a team-leading 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Doyle made continuous big shots to help the Huskies stay competitive.
“Just the desire and the wantingness to win and just to do whatever I could to help my team win,” Doyle said. “And so I kind of utilized the fact that they weren’t boxing me out was it. So that’s what allowed me to be able to go in and get those defensive offensive rebounds today.”
Posting her first double-double and fifth 20-point game this season, Doyle will be a pivotal player throughout the Huskies’ last five games of the season.
The Huskies saw efficient production from both of their forwards, graduate student Brooke Stonebraker and redshirt sophomore Brooke Blumenfeld. Stonebraker had multiple clutch baskets in the paint down the stretch, finishing the game with 13 points and 5 rebounds.
Blumenfeld was the only player off the bench to tally points, but logged multiple momentum-shifting baskets while contributing 10 points in 13 minutes. Both forwards played a huge part in keeping the Huskies afloat in this game.
Ohio senior guard Kennedi Watkins was a problem for the Huskies in this game, consistently driving past defenders and getting easy layups. Watkins finished with a game-leading 23 points and 2 steals in 36 minutes.
Any time the Huskies found their rhythm, Watkins was present and ready to blow past a defender.
FIRST HALF
The Huskies came out blazing early with a pair of three-pointers by NIU freshman guard Lexi Carlsen to gain an 8-2 lead in the first 2 minutes of the game.
In response, the Bobcats scored eight straight field goals to bridge the gap and combat the Huskies’ hotstart.
The Huskies hit a cold spell before closing the first quarter, missing their last four three-point attempts and allowing the Bobcats to bring the score to 23-21 going into the second quarter.
The Bobcats were hot in the second quarter, sparking a run that helped Ohio take a 45-39 halftime lead.
The Huskies were outscored 24-16 in the second quarter and finished the second quarter shooting 5/18 from the field.
SECOND HALF
The Huskies responded accordingly to an all around poor first half, outscoring the Bobcats 19-13 in the third quarter and tying the game going into the fourth. Stark Huskie defense forced multiple turnovers which created timely baskets from each of the Huskies key players.
With NIU graduate student guard Chelby Koker in foul trouble for the majority of the game, Doyle took on the role as NIU’s primary option. Doyle kept the Huskies within striking distance in the fourth quarter, posting 12 points in the third quarter.
NIU had chance after chance to win this game late and could not convert. Despite the Huskies’ late-game effort, NIU turned to fouling the Bobcats, facing the four-point defeat as a result.
In a game that had huge implications for seedings in the MAC, the margin for error gets slimmer in terms of the Huskies’ chances of clinching the MAC tournament.
Doyle commented on her and the team’s mindset heading into the next game.
“Even though we might have lost this game, we just have to focus on the next game, and knowing that if we come out ready to go playing 40 minutes tough and playing 40 minutes together we can pull out a win,” Doyle said. “We still got five games left. Anything can happen.”
UP NEXT
Conference play continues for the Huskies as they host Eastern Michigan University at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, listening will be provided by WDKB 94.9 FM and live stats will be available through SIDEARM Sports.
