Women’s basketball (2-2) used contributions across the board and held on late for its second victory of the season Thursday.

The Huskies defeated the Bradley Braves (2-3), 63-60, Thursday at the Convocation Center and earned their second victory in as many home games. The Huskies handed the Braves their third consecutive loss and first road loss this season.

Leading 32-31 at the half, the Huskies’ defense came to life to open the second half, sparking the offense. NIU opened the second stanza on a 12-1 run and did not allow a field goal for the first 5:28.

“Coach Bennett and her team and staff did a great job taking away our transition game, made us a half-court team,” said Bradley head coach Michael Brooks. “They dictated the tempo from the jump. There were a couple runs where we felt like we played our style of ball, but for the most part they dictated the flow with the tempo and did a great job controlling the offensive and defensive end[s].”

The Huskies led by 16 points with 7:26 to play, but the Braves fought back. Bradley drew the score to within three, 59-56, with 2:30 to play.

After the teams traded missed shots, redshirt junior forward Jenna Thorp nailed a jumper from the left corner that put the Huskies up 61-56. Her basket proved to be the game winner as the Huskies held on for a 63-60 win after junior guard Amanda Corral split four free throws and the Braves added two layups.

“We did our work early in the second half,” said head coach Kathi Bennett. “I thought we had great energy. When you’re not used to winning you have to learn how to win, and we learned how to win down the stretch. It wasn’t pretty, but it doesn’t matter if you win by one or 20.

“I was happy that we stayed together and the timeouts were positive. [We] just had a confidence that we were gonna win it.”

Thursday’s victory was Thorp’s first game this season, as she hurt her back in a preseason scrimmage and sat out the first three games. She finished with 10 points and two rebounds in 19 minutes.

“I was pretty nervous,” Thorp said. “But once I got out there, just kinda getting the flow of the game. I feel like I [have] played with the majority of my team for a long time now, so I just kinda know what people do and I knew my role on the floor.

“I just kinda warned coach, ‘Hey, remember, I’m not quite in shape.’ But once kinda in the game, I wasn’t thinking about that. [I was] just thinking about the game plan.”

Corral played all 40 minutes and paced the team with 17 points and five assists. She added three rebounds and one steal. It was her 40th time scoring in double digits in 63 career games.

Junior forward Natecia Augusta recorded her second double-double at home, posting 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. She posted a team-best 17 points and 11 rebounds in NIU’s home opener.

Braves guard Michelle Young entered the contest averaging a Missouri Valley Conference-best 22.5 points per game but was held to only seven points on 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) shooting.

Guard Kelsey Budd and center Alyson Spinas-Valainis posted 16 and 15 points, respectively, and were the only Braves in double digits.