Jennifer Youngblood’s 13 points and nine rebounds against Ball State on Saturday wasn’t enough to save the NIU women’s basketball team from a 70-57 loss to the Cardinals.

The loss was the third in a row for the Huskies (9-12 overall, 4-6 MAC), which now drops to sixth place in the MAC West.

NIU coach Carol Hammerle stressed taking care of the ball, and her Huskies weren’t able to do that on Saturday, costing them the game, she said.

“It’s the same old story: turnovers,” Hammerle said. “We had 11 of them in the first half. It’s hard to win basketball games like that – especially on the road.”

The Huskies finished the game with 18 turnovers, which led to 24 points for the Cardinals.

NIU enjoyed an early 11-8 lead after freshman guard Stephanie Raymond made a three pointer. However, BSU (12-9, 7-3) scored the next seven points and never looked back.

BSU, who is third in the MAC in points per game, had four players in double figures. Guard Dana Collins led the way with 17 points.

Along with Youngblood, Lindsay Secrest was the only other Huskie to score in double figures. She added 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

Secrest led a late rally by the Huskies, scoring five points as part of a 9-0 run to cut the BSU lead to seven points at 64-57.

“We got it close in the second half, but then we’d turn the ball over again,” Hammerle said. “We need to value possession of the basketball much more than we have.”

The Huskies shot 41 percent from the floor, with Youngblood leading the way, shooting six of seven from the field. She took just one shot in the second half.