Freshmen aren’t supposed to be on the court during crunch time, but a poised Joi Scott sank two free throws to put visiting NIU over the hump in a win over Ohio Wednesday.

Trailing 60-59, Scott rebounded a missed Jennifer Youngblood shot and put up one of her own before being fouled by Candace Bates with 8.1 seconds remaining in the game. Down by one point, Scott hit both free throws to give NIU the win, 61-60.

“Joi was very cool at the line, especially for a freshman,” NIU Coach Carol Hammerle said. “She is carrying a big load for us right now in the post.”

For the game, Scott finished 6-of-9 from the field with 16 points and seven rebounds.

The victory for NIU (8-10, 4-3 MAC) was its first road win of the season and came without both of the Huskies’ senior starters, Kristin Knake (ankle) and Kim Boeding (vertigo).

NIU may not have found itself as close if not for two three-pointers by Monique Davis and Youngblood in the final two minutes, both of which tied the game.

“This game could have gone either way,” NIU Coach Carol Hammerle said. “I feel very fortunate that it went our way. Ohio really battled back in the second half and played some real good basketball. We’re very blessed to get out of here with a win.”

NIU led the game 30-21 at intermission. In the second half, Ohio (5-13, 1-6 MAC) finished off a 9-0 run with 9:58 in the game to give the Bobcats the lead, 41-39.

NIU continued to battle back the rest of the way, forcing eight ties in the second half. After the 10 minute mark of the second half, no team led by more than four.

Youngblood led the team in scoring and rebounding when she poured in 20 (8-of-14 shooting) and nine.

Ohio was led by Latreece Wright, who accounted for all 17 of her points in the second half on 8-of-10 shooting combined with eight rebounds.

Ohio has lost six of its last seven games, including three MAC games by two or fewer.

With the win, the Huskies pulled into fourth place in a crowded MAC West. NIU won its third straight game to climb out of last place where they resided in as of Jan. 21.