What happened

Women’s basketball (6-10, 2-4 MAC) lost to the Buffalo Bulls (10-8, 3-4 MAC), 49-43, Saturday at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.

How it happened

With 13 seconds left in the second half, sophomore Ally Lehman had a potentially game-tying layup blocked by Buffalo’s Christa Baccas. Ayana Bradley made a transition layup to put the Bulls up 47-43 with eight seconds left to seal the game.

The NIU defense came to play in the first half, and the Huskies led the Bulls, 20-11, at intermission. The Huskies shot 35.7 percent from the floor and kept the Bulls to shooting 15.4 percent.

The Bulls went on an 14-2 run to open the second half, taking the lead at 25-22 with 12:18 to play. They pulled their shooting together in the second half and shot 47.8 percent from the field and held NIU to 29.6 percent in the second frame.

The number: 25

That’s the differential amount of points NIU gave up to the Bulls in the second half. In the first half NIU held the Bulls to 11 points, but in the second half the NIU defense gave up 36 points on 11-23 shooting from the field.

Northern Star players of the game

Lehman finished with a team-high 10 points and four steals for NIU. She added six rebounds and three assists.

Buffalo senior forward Kristen Sharkey finished with a game-high 18 points on 6-15 shooting from the field. She added seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal. In the first half she shot 2-8 only, tallying six points, but in the second half she went 4-7 from the field to score 12 points.

Up next

The Huskies return home and will take on the Bowling Green Falcons 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Convocation Center. The Falcons beat the Huskies, 65-59, Jan. 14 in Bowling Green, Ohio.