With all the pent-up emotion from the last two weeks at NIU, the women’s basketball team found a release.

That release came in the form of a 15-foot jump shot from guard Jessie Wilcox with 16 seconds left and the Huskies trailing by one.

The shot gave NIU the lead over and ultimately the win Western Michigan, as it defeated the Broncos 67-65.

“After I broke the press, I knew I had to attack,” Wilcox said of the play. “I got a good screen from Whitney [Lowe] and I was wide open.”

The Huskies (10-14 overall, 6-5 MAC) came back from an 11-point deficit in the first half.

Before setting the screen, Lowe helped the Huskies come back with her play on both sides of the court.

“It was all about stepping it up on defense,” Lowe said. “I also wanted to work harder to set screens and get my teammates open, and I was able to get open at the 3-point line.”

The forward scored a game-high 22 points and shot 4-for-6 from 3-point range.

She also pulled down 10 rebounds.

NIU Guard Kylie York and forward Mauvolyene Adams joined Lowe in double-digit scoring with 11 each.

The Huskies also had a little luck on their side, as the Broncos (12-16, 9-5) shot 21-34 from the free throw line despite, being the best in the MAC at free throws.

“We didn’t handle it well,” WMU head coach Ron Stewart said. “It was kind of an unusual game. They’ve been practicing since last Wednesday and we’ve been playing games.”