NIU came out stale and just never recovered.

Eastern Michigan set the pace of the game by going on a 20-0 run to start the first half and leaving NIU scoreless until the 12-minute mark in the Eagles’ 63-37 victory Wednesday.

“We weren’t ready to play,” NIU coach Carol Owens said. “I’m very disappointed to how we came out. They put us on our heels.”

NIU (9-14 overall, 5-7 MAC) couldn’t find its offense against the second-ranked defensive team in the conference. The Eagles held the Huskies to just 10 points in the first half, forced 16 first-half turnovers and held the Huskies to shoot only 18.2 percent from the field in the first half.

“Their defense wasn’t all that great,” junior guard Stephanie Raymond said. “We beat ourselves tonight.”

Raymond, the Huskies’ leading scorer, was held to four points on 1-10 shooting; one of her lowest outputs of the season.

“We got the best of Northern, at least in the first half,” EMU coach Suzy Merchant said.

Coming into the second half, the Huskies improved their game but still couldn’t find an answer for EMU’s (18-6, 12-1) preseason All-MAC combo of Ryan Coleman and Nikki Knapp.

Coleman lead the Eagles with 17 points and added five steals, while Knapp added 13 points and six rebounds.

EMU had four double-digit scorers compared to NIU’s one.

The Huskies shot an improved 28 percent in the second half, but it still wasn’t enough to gain any ground as they were outscored 29-27 in the half.

The second half also saw a better NIU defense on the court. But yet again it wasn’t enough. While EMU didn’t shoot 65 percent like it did in the first half, it was able to still make 48 percent of its shots.

Coming off the bench, sophomore guard Tara Michels led the way for the Huskies, scoring 11 points on 4 for 9. Michels also holds the distinction of being the only Huskie to make a three-pointer in the game. The one three pointer tied the team low for three-pointers made in a single game this season.

“They understand what happened today,” Owens said. “We don’t have time to ponder over this.”