DeKALB — The women’s golf team concluded its season Sunday with a top-three finish in a 10-team competition at the Mid-American Conference Championships at Naperville Country Club.

The Huskies had a strong first two days in the event, including shooting a 297 in the second round, tying for the lowest finish by NIU in MAC tournament history, according to Head Coach Kim Kester.

Kester said course conditions and putting prohibited the team from building on its historic second round.

“The course played extremely tough today,” Kester said. “We had quite a few three-putts and missed greens. We just didn’t keep the ball in the best positions, and it caught up to us.”

The Huskies finished second in the field in par 4s and par 5s, but could not pull it together to get to the top of the leaderboard.

As the No. 18-ranked team in the nation, Kent State won the tournament with a score of 853, which was 57 strokes better than the second place Toledo Rockets.

“We had some tough competitions this year, and the girls handled it extremely well,” Kester said. “I’m really proud of them.”

Junior Kelly Anderson (73-74-80 — 227) led the way with an 11th place overall finish. Kester complimented Anderson for her strong play in a big moment.

“It was great to see Kelly bounce back and end the year with some good rounds,” Kester said. “She was kind of struggling a little as of late, but she turned it on for the MAC. I’m very happy and proud of her bouncing back for the biggest tournament of the season.”

All of the players in NIU’s starting rotation will be returning next season, including juniors Anderson and Brielle Ward for their senior seasons and sophomore Isabella Samudio

“The girls gained a lot of experience, and it’s just going to roll over to next season,” Kester said. “The future is definitely bright, and we’re in a good spot with having everybody back next year.”