Slow starts are among the most difficult things to recover from as a team. However, some hot outside shooting can erase any deficit quickly.

NIU found itself down double digit points late in the first half with little offense to speak of, until it came back for the 49-43 Wednesday at home against Central Michigan.

“I thought we were rushing and making poor decisions with the ball,” NIU Coach Carol Hammerle said.

The Huskies were down 18-5 with 5:30 left in the first half. They were 2-for-20 from the field and needed a spark.

In stepped junior forward Lindsay Secrest with a big three-point field goal that set off an 11-2 NIU run.

“I was ready to shoot,” Secrest said. “That was the only thing on my mind, that possession. I know you’re not supposed to predetermine things, but I knew as soon as the ball was coming I was going to fire it up. I was just glad it went in.”

Kristan Knake responded on the next possession with a three of her own. Kim Boeding added an inside bucket, and Monique Davis capped the 11-2 Huskie run with a three-point basket that put the Huskies right back in the game with exactly three minutes to go before halftime.

The run allowed NIU to enter intermission down 22-16 and gave it the confidence to pull out the six-point victory 49-43.

“We have been starting very hard all year,” Central Michigan Coach Eileen Kleinfelter said. “We really started to fizzle again.”

Quick recoveries and big comebacks are known to help teams build confidence. With a 2-3 MAC record and an 0-8 road record, confidence might be just what NIU needs.

“This team took a step tonight,” Hammerle said. “In the past, when we haven’t put the ball in the hole, we’ve panicked. We would just really let down defensively; we didn’t do that tonight. We really stuck together as a team.”