Women’s basketball dropped its season-high fourth straight game after it collapsed in the second half against Buffalo this weekend.

The Huskies (8-14, 4-8 MAC) fell to the Buffalo Bulls (14-9, 7-5 MAC), 66-57, Saturday at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.

In a game of major runs, the Huskies found themselves on the wrong side of a game-closing run. Buffalo used a 31-9 run in the final 11:13 to down NIU by nine, 66-57.

The Bulls shot 72.7 percent (8-11) from the field and 75 percent (15-20) from the free-throw line during the run.

Conversely, the Huskies shot 16.7 percent (3-18) from the field and 60 percent (3-5) from the free-throw line during the 31-9 stretch. They turned the ball over 16 times on the afternoon and were tabbed for 27 total fouls, including 18 in the second half.

“For the most part, until we had to foul, I thought they called the second half a little bit tighter, but we needed to adjust to that,” said head coach Kathi Bennett. “Down the stretch … we lost our poise and started dribbling in to people and just started going one-on-one. … The turnovers and getting sped up is what really killed us.”

Redshirt junior guard Danny Pulliam poured in a jumper in the lane with 2:11 to play, which brought the Huskies within four, 57-53, but that would be as close as they would get. Pulliam’s jumper was the Huskies’ first field goal since sophomore guard Alexis Lindstrom hit a 3-pointer that put NIU up 48-35 with 11:44 to play.

“I just thought [in] the second half they pressured us and sped us up, and we really lost our poise and just had a slew of turnovers that, you know, we can’t make,” Bennett said. “We need all the possessions we can get, and they just really sped us up, and we lost our poise.”

NIU closed the first half on an 18-5 run and led 34-29 at the intermission. It held Buffalo to 0-10 shooting from the field in the final 8:19 and allowed 5-6 shooting at the free-throw line.

“I don’t think it gets any better,” Bennett said. “We were really flying around, doing a great job.”

The Huskies used a 16-0 run over a 4:28 stretch in the first half to take a 32-24 lead with 2:47 to play. Lindstrom jump started the run with a 3-pointer and added a second 3-pointer 2:19 later to give the Huskies the lead, 26-24, with 4:56 remaining; it was their first lead since 7-6 with 16:27 to play.

“Without a doubt, I think Buffalo’s a good team,” Bennett said. “I thought we definitely improved as a team playing together. We had that rotten stretch.

“How do you win tight games, turn that switch? That’s what we’re struggling [with] because we’re definitely in every game. It comes down to the end, making shots when it counts.”