The ominous statement came at halftime: Akron, one of the lowest seeds in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, defeated the high-flying Bulls of Buffalo.

This seemed to fuel the NIU women’s basketball team’s focus as it entered the second half of Saturday’s MAC tournament opener against last-seed Central Michigan. The fourth-seeded Huskies, determined not be an upset victim, overcame an early second-half rally to defeat 13th-seed Central Michigan 57-35.

“I think we were pretty focused on [winning],” said NIU forward Kim Boeding. “We knew that it was going to be a tough game.”

The victory puts NIU against 12th-seeded Akron in a quarterfinal matchup Tuesday at Cleveland.

Meeting for the third time this season, NIU and CMU knew each other’s strengths. Fueled by a spirited defensive effort, the Chippewas battled the Huskies to an 8-8 stalemate after seven minutes of play. CMU focused on shutting down NIU’s post tandem of Mickey Johnson and Jennifer Youngblood and held both under double digits for the game. The Chippewas started the second half with a 10-2 run and also outrebounded NIU 41-31 for the game. Central Michigan’s Mandy Elwer grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

“Credit to them, they weren’t going to roll over and die,” Huskies coach Carol Hammerle said. “They were going to come out right in the second half and try to make a run at us. They played harder than we did, and we didn’t handle it well.”

But each time Central Michigan threatened NIU’s lead, the Huskies responded with their defense. The Huskie defensive effort held the Chippewas to 26-percent field-goal shooting for the game, and CMU’s 35-point total marks a MAC record low.

NIU got a scare with 9:30 remaining when sophomore captain Kristan Knake hurt her back while going for a loose ball. After observation, Knake didn’t have a serious injury, and the Huskies stiffened their defense. NIU then went on a 19-6 run to close out the game.

Tallying a season-best 19 steals triggered the fastbreak, as NIU netted 29 points off turnovers. Freshman Stephanie Smith had 5 steals, while Kristan Knake had 4. The Huskies utilized a full court press that frustrated the Chippewas into 27 turnovers.

“I think we surprised them quite a bit,” Boeding said. “With Knake and Steph getting the trap and the steal, I think that just gave us a huge boost going into halftime.”