The NIU women’s basketball team clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the MAC tournament with its 82-62 win over Ball State on Tuesday at the Convocation Center.

The Huskies (12-15 overall, 7-9 MAC) secured the No. 8 seed in the tournament – the final seed to host a home game before play shifts to Cleveland. With the win, the program obtained its 500th victory.

“I’m really proud of how focused, how determined and how disciplined they were,” NIU coach Carol Hammerle said. “They just totally outplayed, out-hustled Ball State.”

NIU will host Ball State (12-15, 7-9), the No. 9 seed, at noon Saturday at the Convocation Center.

Ball State coach Tracey Roller said she assumed the Cardinals were playing Marshall in the first round of the tournament, and when she was told they would see the Huskies again, she replied by saying, “Oh, great.”

After staying close for much of the first half, the Huskies pulled away in the final five minutes. NIU went on a 9-2 run in the final 5:25 to take a 30-23 lead into the half.

The momentum from that run carried over into the second half where the Huskies opened on a 14-4 run to take a 44-27 lead.

“We kept up the intensity in the second half, which is something we couldn’t do [in the first meeting with Ball State],” NIU forward Jennifer Youngblood said.

The 82 points was the most the Huskies have scored in a regular-season game this season.

Sophomore Joi Scott scored a team-high 20 points, while seniors Youngblood and Monique Davis finished with 18 and 15 points, respectively, on Senior Night.

“We were really worried about their post play,” Roller said. “They just overpowered us. In the post, they got whatever they wanted. I know Senior Night is always hard to play through; unfortunately, we just didn’t match the challenge NIU brought tonight.”

Kate Endress scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Cardinals. The second-leading scorer in the MAC also added seven rebounds in the loss.

“Endress is a heck of a player,” Hammerle said. “She never quit playing, even when they were down late. She kept playing and trying to make it happen.”