All good things must come to an end sometime, and for the NIU women's basketball team, that end came too soon.
After pulling off the upset against Kent State on Tuesday, the Huskies (No 3 seed in the MAC West) didn't have enough left in their bag of tricks to pull off the improbable upset against Ball State (No 1 seed in the MAC West) Friday as they fell 83-72 to the Cardinals in the semi-finals of the MAC Tournament at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
"We're disappointed in the loss, we wanted to advance to the championship game," NIU head coach Carol Owens said. "I thought we played hard. I thought our seniors
did a great job this year with their leadership. I'm really proud of them."
After falling behind 41-32 at half, NIU was unable to go on a run to get the game close and Ball State didn't give NIU any help by going 17-17 from the foul line.
"I felt like we were a couple baskets away from making this a game," Owens said. "We got ourselves in a hole in the first half. We had a hard time stopping them defensively."
Ball State's spread offense proved to be difficult for NIU to defend. The Cardinals saw five players hitdouble digit scoring with Audrey McDonald leading the way with 18 points. Porchia Green scored 16 to follow, while Julie DeMuth and Lisa Rusche chipped in with 12
each. Kelsey Corbin rounded out the five with 11 points.
The Huskies got solid performances out of underclassmen Kylie York and Beckie Smith. The freshman York, scored 11 points while hitting three three-pointers, while the sophomore Smith, scored a career-high 15 points on 7-8 shooting from the field.
She also recorded a career high in rebounds pulling down 10 boards. NIU guard Stephanie Raymond led all scorers with 23 points. She also had a game-high eight assists.
After a one-game road trip against the Buffalo Bulls, men’s basketball will return to the Convocation Center when it takes on Ball State today. With the season dwindling down to a handful of games left, this is a crucial game for the Huskies (5-17,...
After last weekend’s successful break from MAC action, NIU men’s tennis will matchup at home against Ball State before hitting the road to face Marquette. Ball State (14-7) has lost two of its last three matches and five of its last eight. Before...
Opening its MAC play this weekend, NIU softball came away with one victory. The Huskies (13 – 19, 1 -3 MAC) battled in both games Friday, but were unable to come away with a win falling to Miami (Ohio) 8–5 and 7–6 in extra innings. In game one,...
NIU men’s basketball made history Saturday, but not in a way that it would have liked to. In their regular season finale, the Huskies (4-25, 3-13 MAC) lost at Ball State, 62-51, making it the worst team in NIU history. With the end of the regular season,...
It seemed a foregone conclusion as a loss. Behind Ball State's abysmal beam and a red-hot floor score, NIU gymnastics won its first MAC meet.As Ball State (1-4, MAC 0-3) headed into its beam event, NIU (2-3, MAC 1-1) was set to leave it all on the floor,...
Adversity is something NIU football has been through numerous times this season. Adversity popped its head Tuesday night, but NIU persevered and defeated Ball State 4-38 on a 34 yard field goal by kicker Matt Sims with 11 seconds left in regulation. "I...
With one more win, the NIU football program will have accomplished what MAC voters believed it would before the season began; first place in the MAC West. After beating Toledo 65-30 at home on Nov. 9, the Huskies (8-2 overall, 6-0 MAC) now hold their...
Offense Quarterback: The Cardinals' roster relies on a lot of young players, but everything starts with freshman quarterback Keith Wenning. The true freshman signal caller has gotten the majority of snaps under center, starting nine contests for Ball...
Ball State Cardinals Ball State defeated Southeast Missouri State last week behind 105 yards and a touchdown from running back Eric Williams. Star quarterback Kelly Page was 10-of-17 for 85 yards. The Cardinals rushed for 243 yards as a team with Cory...
