Senior guard sets career-high in NIU victory
Courtney Woods, women’s basketball sophomore guard and forward, leads the team to victory in a Jan. 4 game against Bowling Green State University. NIU defeated Bowling Green 89-76 and is 5-0 in Mid-American Conference play.
December 17, 2016
The women’s basketball team (6-3) displayed their number one scoring offense in the nation en route to a 97-78 victory Friday night over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Five Huskies’ finished in double-digits, scoring a combined total of 89 points as the NIU team remains undefeated at the Convocation Center (4-0).
Senior guard Cassidy Glenn led the Huskies with a career-high 24 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists while sophomore guard Courtney Woods supplemented NIU’s offense adding 21 points and seven rebounds as she went 5-for-10 from 3-point range. Senior guard Ally Lehman recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists.
“I thought we did a nice job out of the locker room of shooting the ball well in the first quarter,” Head Coach LIsa Carlsen said. “You have to give Southern Illinois University Edwardsville a lot of credit because they did a lot of different things to try and slow us down. There were a couple of spurts where we weren’t sharp but I think that when we go back and look at the film, we’ll be happy with a lot of our possessions.”
It was a back-and-forth battle throughout the first half as NIU scored 27 points from behind the arc on 9-for-18 three-point field goals. The Huskies outscored the Cougars 26-19 in the second quarter as they finished the half with a 50-41 lead.
The second half began sloppy for both sides as the Cougars were able to bring the game within five points with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
NIU finished with 15 turnovers but it didn’t hurt them overall as they outscored the Cougars 18-12 in points off turnovers.
The Huskies outscored the Cougars 47-37 in the second half as they coasted for a 19 point victory. NIU went 17-for-21 from the free-throw line matching their season free throw percentage of 81 percent which puts it at third best in the nation.
The women’s team (6-3) looks to continue their momentum in Kansas City as they play the South Dakota University Cougars (9-2) in the first game of the University of Missouri at Kansas City classic 5:30 p.m. Monday.
