NIU Women's Basketball Team Falls to Ball State in Overtime

March 5, 2008

MUNCIE, Ind.-The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team fell to Ball State, 76-70, in overtime Wednesday night at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Ind.

The Huskies (10-17, 6-8) opened the game strong, jumping on top of the Cardinals, 10-7 lead in the early going. Solid defense and timely three-point shooting allowed the Huskies to keep the pressure on Ball State (15-14, 11-5). The lead changed hands four times in the first half and was tied twice. NIU went into the break with a 22-21 lead.

Northern Illinois went 9-25 from the field and 4-10 from beyond the arc. Terriel Cannon (Hillside, Ill./Proviso East) led the Huskies in the first half with five points, followed by Becky Smith (Janesville, Wis./Parker) with four.

Ball State opened the second half hot, going 8-10 in the first nine minutes of the second half. A 12-4 Cardinal run gave Ball State a 42-33 lead with 11:46 left to play. The Huskies shot 25 percent from the field to open the second half, going 2-8 during the same time frame.

The Huskies pulled to within three, 54-51, with 4:15 left to play thanks to some timely three-point shooting. NIU closed the gap to two, 58-56, on a Mauvolyene Adams (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) lay up with 3:04 left to play.

Down 61-58 with 2.9 seconds left to play, NIU had a chance to send the game into overtime. York inbounded the ball to Jessie Wilcox (Oshkosh, Wis./West) who sent up a prayer from beyond the arc at the buzzer. It was answered and the Huskies tied the game at 61 sending the game into an extra session.

The two teams traded baskets on back-to-back possessions tying the game at 65 with 3:33 left in the overtime. Audrey McDonald hit a three-pointer, keying a 7-3 Cardinal run and to give Ball State a 72-68 lead with 27 seconds left to play.

Ball State's free throw shooting proved to be the difference in the game. The Cardinals went 16-17 from the charity stripe, while the Huskies were 5-8 from the free throw line.

The Huskies had four players finish in double figures. Shari' Welton (Calumet City, Ill./Thornwood) led the Huskies with 14 points, shooting 5-9 from the field. York and Wilcox also finished in double digits with 12 points each. Adams rounded out the quartet with 11 points. She also led the Huskies in rebounding with eight.

"I was really proud of Mauvolyene Adams," NIU head coach Carol Owens said. "She played some big minutes for us. She played like a veteran. You want your freshmen to come along. She's really come along."

NIU is back in action Monday, March 10 when it travels to Cleveland, Ohio to compete in the 2008 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Huskies, the No. 4 seed out of the MAC West will take on the No. 5 seed from the MAC East Kent State at 2:30 p.m.