NIU tops Zips, advances in MAC tourney

By Andy Pruski

DeKALB | The last time NIU sophomore Becky Smith played in a MAC Tournament game, she grabbed a career-high five rebounds in a season-ending loss to Bowling Green.

Sunday afternoon, she was back at it as the NIU women’s basketball team took on Akron in the first round of the MAC tournament.

This time, Smith managed to out-do herself, setting career highs with nine points and nine rebounds. Smith’s contributions helped the Huskies defeat the Zips 69-56 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Sunday.

NIU (No. 3 seed in the MAC West) now advances to the second round of the tournament, where it will face Kent State (No. 2 seed in the MAC East) at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Smith shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field while being the beneficiary of Akron’s defensive gameplan, which was zoned in on defending senior forward Kristin Wiener.

“Kristin demands so much attention,” NIU head coach Carol Owens said. “They gambled and Becky took advantage. She really ceased the opportunity.”

Despite being the focus of the Zips defense, Wiener managed a team-high 18 points and collected nine rebounds.

Akron was playing shorthanded, however, as it was without leading scorer Niki McCoy. The sophomore guard was inactive after being suspended indefinitely for violating team-policy, said Melanie Schneider, Akron assistant director of athletics media relations.

The Huskies took advantage by using a balanced attack early and gaining a big lead. In the first half, NIU collected 11 assists on 15 field goals, building a lead as big as 21. Once again Stephanie Raymond was the floor leader for the Huskies, dishing out eight assists while adding 12 points.

“We were ready to play,” Owens said. “Kristin and Stephanie are our leaders and they did their job. Mary Basic also played a big role along with Becky Smith.”

Basic scored three points, but made her presence felt on the glass, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.

Freshman Kylie York showed no signs of nerves being a problem, coming off the bench to score nine first-half points. All nine points came on three converted shots from beyond the arc.

“People coming off the bench played a big role,” Owens said. “Kylie really gave us a lift in the first half.”

Freshman forward Riana Miller led all Akron scorers with 23 points and seven total rebounds, while freshman guard Sarah Tokodi scored 19 and had five steals.