Saving its best for last, the NIU women’s golf team held on to third place amidst an impressive 16-school field in the Indiana University women’s Invitational.

The Huskies put together a 323 tally for their final 18 holes on Sunday in order to finish with a 54-hole total of 982. While the host Hoosiers, kept their own tourney trophy with an outstanding 958, the University of Minnesota was the runner-up at 969 with NIU third, five strokes ahead of Penn State University (987) and seven in front of Ohio State University (1,003).

“We played very, very well for the final 18 holes,” NIU coach Pam Tyska said. “I thought we rose to the occasion being paired with two of the Big Ten’s top teams. We’ve had our best round during the last 18 holes of the last two tournaments and I think that shows we’re on the right track and improving.”

Indiana’s Angela Buzminski made it a sweep for the Hoosiers as she put together rounds of 74, 76, and 77 to claim medalist honors with a 227. The University of Missouri’s Amy Smethers was second at 232 while Minnesota’s Sara Evens took third with her 234.

NIU was led by senior Nicole Jeray’s 241 scorecard which included a solid 78 for the final 18 holes. Right behind was the Huskies’ first-day standout in Shelley Wendels.

The NIU freshman had rounds of 80 and 80 during the initial 36 holes which were played under less than ideal conditions ranging from snow to sleet to rain. Wendels finished at 24 and turned a lot of heads with her play, said Tyska.