What happened

Women’s basketball (11-14, 7-8 MAC) stopped its four-game losing streak by beating the Central Michigan Chippewas (12-14, 7-8 MAC), 69-62, Wednesday at the Convocation Center.

It was the Huskies’ first win over Central Michigan since 2011.

How it happened

With the Huskies leading 49-39 with 11:14 remaining, the Chippewas used a 15-6 run over 7:22 to put a scare into the Huskies. NIU saw its 10-point lead dwindle to a mere point with 3:52 to play.

The Huskies pushed back with a 7-0 run fueled by a Jenna Thorp jumper, a Kelly Smith layup and a layup and free throw from Amanda Corral. The Huskies pushed their lead to eight points, saw it cut back down to as little as six points and held on for a seven-point win, 69-62. Corral scored the Huskies’ final 10 points, six of which came from the free-throw line.

The first half saw the Huskies fall into a 6-0 hole just more than one minute into the game. Later, they took an 11-10 lead on a layup from Ally Lehman and didn’t trail the rest of the game.

The number: 69

That is the number of points the Huskies scored to obtain the win. In their four-game losing streak entering the game they averaged scoring only 52.5 points per game. The 69 points are the most scored by the Huskies in 15 MAC games this season.

Northern Star players of the game

Lehman flirted with a triple-double in the 69-62 victory, posting nine points, eight rebounds and a career-high 10 assists in 37 minutes. She was also tasked with locking down Crystal Bradford, one of the MAC’s premier players.

Junior guard Da’Jourie Turner did all she could to try to make a comeback victory happen for Central Michigan, but she wasn’t successful. Turner scored a team-high 20 points, dished out one assist, recorded one steal and grabbed one rebound.

The quotes

“Really proud with how our team bounced back after our game on Saturday,” said head coach Kathi Bennett. “I thought Ally did a great job on [Crystal Bradford]. We really played her as tight as possible. Since I’ve been here it’s the best defensive job we have done on” Bradford.

Kelly Smith’s “fearless, I feel that Kelly is a player that I admire because when it does get tight she’s fearless and she goes for it,” Bennett said. “I can’t teach that, I can’t instill that. She’s got it and I am really proud of her for taking shots in tight situations … . She doesn’t play like a freshman.”

Up next

The Huskies go back on the road to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles (15-11, 8-7 MAC) 1 p.m. Saturday at the EMU Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich.

Sports Editor Frank Gogola contributed to this article.