The NIU women’s basketball team (4-15, 2-6 MAC) was defeated 72-62 on the road by Eastern Michigan University (9-9, 3-5 MAC) on Saturday. The Huskies could not complete the comeback despite a late fourth-quarter rally, pulling within two points on multiple occasions as the Eagles held firm.
Three Huskies scored in double digits, led by graduate student guard Nadechka Laccen (18), freshman guard Sa’Mahn Johnson (16) and freshman guard Emilie Sorensen (14). Laccen and Sorensen continued their hot streak, each scoring 10 or more points for the third consecutive game.
“They’re (Johnson and Sorensen) getting a ton of experience as freshmen,” head coach Jacey Brooks said. “They feel more comfortable within our offense and know where they’re getting their shots.”
It was an effective day from the field for NIU, going 27/56, 48.2%. The Huskies struggled from deep, shooting 3/14, andconverting 5/13 from the charity stripe. EMU produced similar shooting splits from the field and three, but converted 90% of its free throws.
“The fact that we shot better from the field than we did the free throw line is very, very disappointing,” Brooks said. “We’ve got to be better with it; we made more baskets than them but they just made plays down the stretch.”
Instead, the game was fought inside the paint as both sides combined for 86 points down low. However, EMU’s aggressive defense and rebounding overwhelmed the Huskies despite junior forward Nevaeh Wingate’s 9 rebounds and 4 steals. EMU outrebounded the Huskies 36-26 and totaled 6 blocks, severely limiting NIU’s scoring options down the stretch.
The Huskies failed to string together consecutive results after taking care of Western Michigan University on Wednesday and now sit in 11th place in the Mid-American Conference, above Akron and Buffalo, neither of which have a conference win.
“Just happy with our last week from an effort standpoint,” said Brooks. “We’re putting closer to 40 minutes of basketball together than we have in the past.”
UP NEXT
NIU rolls on with the conference schedule, hosting MAC leaders Miami University at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Convocation Center. Live stats will be updated on SIDEARM Sports.
