Never underestimate what a player’s participation can have on a game.

Or non-participation, for the matter. The NIU women’s basketball team’s 71-63 victory over Southeast Missouri State at Chick Evans Field House Wednesday showed.

The Otahkians’ star player, junior forward Lori Chase, came into the contest averaging 17.9 points and seven rebounds a game.

Chase racked up two personal fouls in the game’s first three minutes and took a seat on the bench with 16:45 left in the first half. The score was 6-2 SMES at that point.

When Chase returned with 7:20 remaining in the half, the Huskies had put together a 23-3 run to take a 25-9 lead.

For the 10 minutes Chase was in the first half, SMES outscored the Huskies 26-12.

“That hurt,” said SMES coach Ed Arnzen of Chase’s extended stay on the bench. “Lori sat for a long time, and then when she got back, she didn’t have enough minutes to get in a rhythm. That was a big factor.”

Chase finished with nine points on three-of-nine shooting from the field.

Happy Birthday, Coach: NIU coach Carol Hammerle got the royal treatment on her birthday Wednesday as the Huskies won their third straight, and the NIU band played “Happy Birthday” for Hammerle during halftime.

“The only birthday present I wanted today was this win, believe me,” said Hammerle.

Bombs away: Three-pointers are known for their ability to break an opponent’s back.

Based on that, the Otahkians might have some trouble getting out of bed this morning after the Huskies connected on five of eight shots from behind the arc. Point guard Monique Davis hit two treys, as did backup forward Lindsay Secrest. Junior co-captain Kristan Knake had the other triple.

“We haven’t really held our end of the bargain,” said Knake of the Huskies outside players. “Tonight we did a better job, including [Davis]. She played a great game, and she finally looked to score, which is good, because we need our point to be a scoring threat.”

Balanced attack: The Huskies have many reasons to be happy about Wednesday’s win, including the balance in the stat sheet scoring column.

Four Huskies scored in double figures and six players registered at least seven points, led by Knake’s 15.

Freshman Jamie Wilson scored a career-high 14 points and hit five of nine from the field. Monique Davis, the other half of the “Columbus Connection,” as Wilson coined it after the game, scored a season-high 13 points. Wilson and Davis both hail from the Columbus, Ohio, area.

Sophomore Jennifer Youngblood finished the double-digit quarter with 10 points.

Inactive: Sophomore guard Kristen Brown sat out Wednesday’s game after breaking team policy. She will be back in the lineup for Saturday’s 2:05 p.m. home game against Dayton.

In other news, redshirt freshman Devin Bernard has quit the team due to problems with her right knee. Bernard has gone through four surgeries on the knee after tearing her ACL.