Much like Central Michigan did Saturday, an upset-hungry Akron women’s basketball team focused on stopping NIU’s potent post attack Tuesday afternoon.

But it didn’t count on a determined Kristan Knake.

After receiving a snub in the All-MAC team voting, Knake tied her career-high of 23 points. Her efforts helped pace the Huskies to a 69-47 triumph at Cleveland’s Gund Arena in the quarterfinal round in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

The sophomore guard drained two NBA-range 3-pointers to set the tone early, and scored 8 of NIU’s first 10 points. The victory guarantees NIU a .500 finish for the first time since 1995, and the Huskies now advance to the semifinals Friday to take on top seed Toledo (23-5). Toledo defeated Bowling Green 81-63 in another quarterfinal match.

After 12th-seeded Akron stunned fifth-seed Buffalo 65-64 on Saturday, the Huskies, fourth seed, knew they couldn’t take the Zips lightly.

“I knew they would come out here and play like they had nothing to lose,” Knake said. “They are a running team and we took that out of them. We wanted to show that Northern Illinois is a team to be dealt with, and I think we did that today.”

With the Zips’ defense collapsing on NIU center Mickey Johnson, Knake and freshman guard Lindsay Secrest sparked the Huskies with their perimeter

shooting.

Johnson went 0-for-6 from the field, and forward Jennifer Youngblood managed 8 points. Secrest came off the bench to pour in 12 points off 3-point field goals, giving her a team-best 54 for the year, and later beat the buzzer with a trey to give NIU a commanding 33-22 halftime lead.

NIU (16-15) connected on a school-record 11 threes and shot 61 percent from the arc.

“We knew we had to prepare for two 3-point shooters,” Akron coach Roxanne Allen said. “They showed us why they’re rated so highly. They are a great team and will do well in the tournament.”

Once again, the Huskie defense came through, holding Akron to 30-percent field-goal shooting and forcing 18 turnovers. Against NIU’s stifling man-to-man coverage, the Zips managed just 22 first half points.

The Huskies also held the Zips’ 6-foot-4-inch senior Cheryl Bowles scoreless in the second half until the closing minutes.

“I can’t say enough for this team and the great defense [it] played,” Hammerle said. “Also I thought we started to do some real smart things that enabled us to defeat the Akron zone.”

Akron (6-23) never threatened NIU in the second half. Leading 39-26, the Huskies were ignited by a Secrest three and a layup by sophomore Kim Boeding (8 points), which sparked a 24-5 NIU run and carried the Huskies to victory.