As the cheers erupted at the close of the NIU women’s basketball team’s 82-74 triumph over Ball State University, the NIU players gathered in a huddle at center court. But they had more to celebrate than the victory itself.

As the Huskies locked arms, months of frustration spent learning coach Carol Hammerle’s defensive system and enduring tough early season losses seemed like a distant memory. On senior night that saw Mickey Johnson and captain Kristan Knake return, the Huskies celebrated a new sense of accomplishment.

“This is an awesome feeling,” Hammerle said. “I think this is a tremendous step. I can’t say enough for these young ladies. It was just a total team effort.”

Only a month ago, the Huskies (13-14 overall, 9-5 Mid-American Conference West) got pummeled by the same Ball State team 78-54 in Muncie, Ind. But a season of ups and downs had finally paid off, as the young Huskies frustrated the 6th best offense in the nation, forcing 22 Cardinal turnovers.

“You’re seeing a young team mature,” Hammerle said. “Probably the biggest factor that helped us a lot was the fact that we had to play two games without Kristan. I think other players really took a big step, when we were going through that adversity. And then when you add Kristan back to the mix, we’re just a much better team.”

However, it didn’t go smoothly for NIU to start the contest. The Cardinals (18-8, 10-5) jumped out to a 12-2 lead, but a 17-foot jumper from freshman Jennifer Youngblood ignited a 13-3 run. Hammerle said the Huskies keyed on slowing down the BSU attack and keeping it a half-court game.

“I think all the credit goes to Northern,” BSU coach Brenda Oldfield said. “They played a great game. They were very inspired.”

NIU utilized a balanced attack, as four Huskies reached double figures. Youngblood and Johnson led the effort, and each pumped in 20 points. Knake, after sitting out the last two contests with a concussion, netted 12 points in 33 minutes of play and Lindsay Secrest added 10. The Huskies already have doubled last season’s win total with 13 and have the most wins in a season in Hammerle’s three years as coach.

“I think it really gives us a good look for what we can do for the rest of the season,” Knake said. “We’ve been talking about it being crunch-time. A win like this at the end of the season — it’s huge. Because we know where our potential is.”

The Cardinals closed the lead to 63-61 on a free throw by Shala Crook, but NIU, fueled by a 3-pointer from Knake and a put-back by sophomore Boeding, who finished with 9 points, went on a 10-2 run and BSU never got any closer than 5.

“We couldn’t find an answer to stop any of them,” Oldfield said.