Eastern Michigan senior Colleen Russell averaged only a few minutes of playing time in previous years.

Unfortunately for NIU, that isn’t the case this season.

The 6-foot-5 center is breaking out in her final year of eligibility, and the Huskies had the best view in the house when she led the Eagles to a 64-57 win in DeKalb.

“I know that this is my last year,” Russell said. “I’m making the most of this opportunity.”

In 37 minutes, the senior scored 25 points, going 10 for 12 from the floor. She also grabbed eight rebounds.

At one point in the second half, Russell had 24 of EMU’s 51 points.

Part of the reason for her success was the play of Eagles’ guard Alyssa Pittman. Pittman came off the bench to score 10 points, including hitting three 3-pointers for EMU.

“We had to try and limit [Russell’s] touches and the zone we were playing was effective,” NIU head coach Carol Owens said. “When they brought Pittman in, it was hard to play zone. If you’re going to let their big kid score, you can’t have others scoring.”

Down the stretch, NIU finally found a way to slow the center down. The solution: utilizing the Huskies’ 6-foot-3 forward, Ebony Ellis.

With Ellis guarding Russell, the EMU senior was held to just two points in the final 7:41 of play.

“It’s all about early defense,” Ellis said. “Basically you have to try and be physical and a little rougher when guarding her. I expected it to be tough.”

But Russell had already done her damage, just as EMU head coach AnnMarie Gilbert expected.

When the first-year coach saw what kind of player she inherited earlier in the season, she knew a shift in the team’s focus was needed.

“We had to change the philosophy of the team from an outside-inside one, to inside-outside,” Gilbert said.