With 42 seconds left in the second period, NIU held the ball – and its destiny.

Grasping a slim 55-53 lead, the Huskies (7-9 overall, 2-1 MAC) needed to sink one basket to put the game out of the Broncos’ reach.

But a missed shot gave Western Michigan (4-12, 0-3) the ball and 16 seconds. Plenty of time for WMU guard Tiera DeLaHoussaye to tie the game, scoring two of her career-high 28 points.

The Bronco senior made one mistake though. She left too much time on the clock.

NIU guard Jessi Wilcox dribbled the ball with 11.4 seconds left. The senior drove into the lane, but instead of shooting the ball she dished it to freshman Sarah Rogers.

The guard pulled up for the final shot, a tough jumper from the side of the basket.

With one second left the ball flew into the air – but it never found the rim. Instead, the ball sailed right over the basket.

The game was heading to overtime.

With five more minutes, Wilcox was determined not to make the same decisions.

“Yeah, I just kind of took over the game,” the senior said. “I had to get everyone under control because we got a little wild and let things get out of control at times.”

Huskie center Ebony Ellis won the tip off in overtime. As NIU brought the ball past half court, Wilcox found it in her hands. Sitting at the top of the key, the guard released the ball.

And then everything the Broncos had done was erased. The 12-3 run they put together to end the final four minutes of regulation, sending the game into a tie, suddenly meant nothing.

Wilcox sunk a trey.

Any and all momentum WMU had, was left at the Convocation Center. A sudden deflating feeling hit the Broncos.

“We had some miscommunication there and left one of the best three-point shooters wide open,” WMU head coach Tasha McDowell said. “That’s certainly not the way to start overtime.”

Wilcox didn’t stop there. The senior added another four points in the final five minutes. Of her team-leading 15 points, seven came in the overtime period.

NIU head coach Carol Owens told her players before the bonus minutes that they were going to win the game. However, Owens knew that if her team was going to be victorious she needed veterans, like Wilcox, to produce.

“We have a young bench,” Owens said. “We have to rely on players like Jessi [Wilcox], Kylie [York] and Shari’ [Welton].”