For one of the few times this season, the Western Michigan women’s basketball team fired on all cylinders last night in Kalamazoo. WMU burst out of the gate with dead-eye 12 of 13 field goal attempt accuracy, and posted a convincing 78-65 final verdict.

Guard Casey Rost flashed her 2004 MAC Player of the Year form with 29 points and shot 5 of 7 three pointers. As a team, WMU shot 63 percent in the first half; from the field and from beyond the arc, which translated to a 50-27 halftime lead.

“I felt extremely good about our performance,” WMU coach Ron Stewart said.

“Casey was making her threes in the first half and she worked hard to get a few in the second half. NIU made some second half adjustments which caused us some frustration, but overall it was a good effort.”

Despite a horrendous start, WMU (5-10, 2-2) demonstrated why it were picked to finish second in the coaches poll, and has now won six straight games over NIU (6-9, 2-2).

Mary Basic turned in 15 points for NIU, which lost leading scorer Stephanie Raymond for a brief stint in the second half due to an on-court collision.

The junior guard returned to chip in 10 points and seven assists, making four of her 17 shots – two of her 12 attempts from behind the arc.

Keishond Williamson and Kristin Weiner added 8 points apiece, but NIU never got on track, as Carol Owens’ squad shot a paltry 36 percent from the field and 31 percent from three point land.

The Broncos improved to 2-2 in MAC play, tying NIU with the same record.

Both teams now share third place in the MAC West, behind Ball State and undefeated Eastern Michigan.

NIU is back in action at the Convocation center on Saturday to host Ball State at 4:05 p.m.