Women’s basketball took a wild win the first round of the Mid-American Conference Championships Monday against Western Michigan University. The Huskies benefitted from two missed free throws with .6 seconds remaining to hang on for the 70-69 victory.

With the Broncos in the rear-view mirror, the Huskies now move on to a matchup against the Ohio University Bobcats. The second round for NIU will tip off 4 p.m. Wednesday in Cleveland, Ohio.

The two teams played once previously this year on Jan. 23 when the Bobcats walked away with a 69-53 victory. The Huskies shot just 27.4 percent from the floor as their offense couldn’t find their footing.

NIU fell behind early, trailing 32-21 at halftime. The Huskies shooting struggles continued in to the second half as the Bobcats ran away with the convincing 69-53 victory.

Senior guard Mikayla Voigt led NIU with 23 points on 7-22 shooting from the field. Sophomore guard Gabby Nikitinaite was the only other Huskie scorer to reach double digits as she recorded 10 points of her own.

Ohio red-shirt first-year forward Erica Johnson scored a game-high 26 points off the bench. Johnson helped the Bobcats secure the victory all over the floor with 16 rebounds and 5 assists to go along with here scoring output.

Related: Huskies fall to Ohio

Ohio enters Wednesday’s contest with the second leading offense, averaging 78.4 points per game. The Huskies’ offense ranks in the top half of the MAC as well, averaging 73.8 points per contest.

On the defensive end NIU ranks tenth in the MAC, surrendering 70.4 opposing points per game. The Bobcats showcase a stingier defense giving up an average of 66.1 points to opposing teams.

Ohio finished the regular season as the top team in the MAC East with a 25-4 overall and 14-4 conference record. NIU enters the contest after finishing third in the MAC West with a 19-12 overall and a 10-8 conference record.

After coming up short the first time around, the Huskies will look to bounce back and punch their ticket to the MAC semi-finals. NIU and Ohio will tip off 4 p.m. Wednesday in Cleveland, Ohio.