Women’s basketball fell to 10-13 for the season and 3-9 in the MAC after losing a close matchup with Central Michigan University Saturday at the Convocation Center.

NIU controlled the game in the first half, leading the Chippewas 38-25 at halftime. CMU was hurt by 12 first-half turnovers but was able to stay fairly close thanks to good rebounding — it outrebounded the Huskies 26-20 despite trailing the entire first half. The Chippewas hit just 1-6 on their free throws and shot just 11-34 from the field in the first two quarters, allowing NIU to shoot 42.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from three.

The Huskies outscored CMU again in the third quarter, good enough to keep their lead at 14 points heading into the final period. The Chippewas exploded in the fourth quarter, outscoring NIU 30-10 and dominating the remainder of the contest. Central Michigan shot a blistering 55 percent in the second half, outscoring the Huskies 48-29. CMU hit 16-20 on free throws in the final two quarters, outrebounding the Huskies 25-9.

NIU shot just 1-15 from three in the half and didn’t attempt a single free throw. The team turned the ball over nine times and shot just 41 percent from the field. Central Michigan held off late NIU attempts at a comeback, winning by a score of 73-67.

The Huskies were led by freshman guard Courtney Woods, who poured in 17 points and five rebounds. They had four players score in double figures including freshman guard Mikayla Voigt, junior guard Ally Lehman and sophomore forward Kelly Smith.

The loss ranks toward the top of disappointing defeats this season for a Huskie team that was in desperate need of a win with the season winding down. There are now six games remaining in the regular season, making the chances for the team to finish over .500 fairly slim. The Huskies can finish 16-13 at best, but they would need a six-game winning streak to do so.

“We came out of the locker room and executed our game plan,” said NIU head coach Lisa Carlsen, according to an NIU Athletics news release. “I could not be prouder of the way we played, especially for the first three quarters. What we asked the players to do, they did well on both ends of the floor. We have to learn how to play and expect to be that position. You have to give Central Michigan a lot of credit because any good team is going to make a run at you and I thought they had some kids that stepped up. Good teams are going to do that, we just have to be able to respond.”

The Huskies will not have much time to mourn the loss — the team will play two games this week, starting with a bout with Ball State University at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Convocation Center. The game will be televised on ESPN3.