DeKALB | Notching its second consecutive win at home against a MAC opponent, the NIU women’s basketball team downed Miami (OH) 71-64 on Sunday afternoon.

Led by a combination of Ebony Ellis’ post play and the sharp shooting of Marke Freeman, the Huskies kept the RedHawks guessing throughout the afternoon. Freeman led NIU with 28 points on 9-of-22 shooting.

Courtesy of a hot-shooting group of Huskies, NIU held a double-digit lead for much of the second half. Miami cut the deficit to three with two minutes remaining, but lost any momentum gained when RedHawks guard Maggie Boyer got called for a charge. Following a subsequent Freeman bucket, the Huskies were in the driver’s seat for the win.

“We got a lot of everything from everybody today,” Freeman said. “Everybody was aggressive, nobody died down and we really fed off of each other.”

NIU (8-11, 2-4 MAC) out-rebounded the RedHawks 46-29, with Ellis pulling down 15 of the Huskie boards. Ellis finished with 15 points on the afternoon.

“Since I’ve been here, this was the best performance that Ebony has had,” said NIU head coach Kathi Bennett. “Her rebounding was the difference today. She had some unbelievable rebounds. To limit them to one shot at crucial times was really big.”

Though the two squads engaged in a shootout in the second half, neither the Huskies nor RedHawks (10-9, 2-4 MAC) shot well in the first half. NIU shot 29 percent from the field, while Miami sank 31 percent of its shots.

Without reliable shooting, both teams looked to get something going in the paint. Ellis acted as the biggest force for the Huskies down low. The senior tore down nine rebounds and chipped in 10 points in the first half.

“I just went in knowing that if I do well during the minutes I’m in then everything else will be okay,” Ellis said. “In practice we talked about how good their post play is, and we prepared ourselves to be able to face that with our post.”

NIU had an eight-point lead halfway through the first, before a pair of RedHawks three-point shots quickly cut the advantage. The Huskies briefly lost the lead, before Ellis went on a six-point tear in the last two minutes of the half. NIU led the RedHawks 28-26 at the break.

Coming out of the locker room, the Huskies found their shooting touch. Freeman led the Huskies on a 17-6 run over the first five minutes of the second half, extending the NIU lead to 13.

Following the Huskie run, the RedHawks settled down and began to sink their open looks, but it proved to be too little, too late. Boyer led the RedHawks with 18 points on 7-17 shooting.