Eagles make valiant, fourth-quarter run in road loss

DEKALB, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball made a strong, fourth-quarter run in their first road test of the season at Northern Illinois University Tuesday, but the hosting Huskies won by a final score of 61-53.
 
Both schools started with high-intensity defense to start the game, applying pressure down the court. Sophomore guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) scored USI’s first bucket with a long, two-point jumper. The combination of NIU’s senior guard Chelby Koker and senior forward A’jah Davis pushed the Huskies ahead 9-6 midway through the first quarter. USI junior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) hit a deep, three-point bomb to tie the game 9-9 with three minutes left in the first, and she later scored again to bring Southern Indiana back to within two, 13-11. Northern Illinois finished the opening quarter with four unanswered to take a 17-11 lead after one.
 
To start the second quarter, baskets were at a premium, but USI senior guard Soffia Rieckers (Evansville, Indiana) connected from beyond the arc to make the score 18-14 NIU with 8:27 left in the first half. Layups by senior forwards Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) and Tara Robbe (Wildwood, Missouri) tied the game up at 18. After trading baskets for both sides, the Huskies took a three-point lead before the Screaming Eagles’ Raley cashed in on her second three of the game to even the game with 1:36 left in the second quarter, 23-23. The first half concluded with two buckets for Northern Illinois before Shafford drained a runner right before the halftime horn to cut the Huskies’ lead down to two, 27-25, at the break.
 
Raley led USI at the half with eight points, hitting twice from three. Shafford had six points. Both teams shot 40 percent overall in the first half.
 
Out of halftime, a pair of three-pointers by the Huskies’ graduate forward Emma Carter pushed NIU ahead 33-25 early in the third quarter. Midway through the third, NIU extended their lead to double figures after a couple more made triples. NIU led 48-31 going into the fourth quarter.
 
The Screaming Eagles showed resilience and made some noise to begin the fourth quarter, making a big 12-0 run to pressure the Huskies. Rieckers made another shot from beyond the arc to start the USI run in the first few seconds of the fourth. With 8:24 left, graduate forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) converted a basket and the foul to make it a 48-37 ballgame. Brown continued to find the bottom of the net for USI, hitting a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer to narrow the deficit down to 48-43 NIU. Southern Indiana went 5-for-6 from the field during the scoring run.
 
After a called timeout by Northern Illinois, the Huskies hit two more triples to increase their lead back to 11. Southern Indiana rallied again, trimming the score back down to six after a pair of made free throws and the third three of the game by Raley with four minutes left. Northern Illinois’ Davis made two layups with two minutes left to put NIU back up 10. Shafford drained one more three-pointer and capitalized on two free throws for USI to make the score 58-53 with under a minute remaining, but NIU made their foul shots at the end to claim a 61-53 win.
 
Southern Indiana had three players finish in double digits. Raley led USI with 15 points off the bench and went 6-10 from the floor, including a perfect 3-3 from distance. Shafford tallied 11 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Brown posted 10 points with four boards and three assists, providing a boost during the Screaming Eagles’ big fourth-quarter run. Overall, USI shot 35.7 percent (20-56) and made seven shots from three. Defensively, the Screaming Eagles had 11 steals.
 
Northern Illinois was led by Koker and Davis, scoring 15 points each. NIU won the rebounding battle 37-29 and went 20-48 for 41.7 percent from the field.
 
Both teams moved to 2-1 on the season after Tuesday’s final. The Screaming Eagles will return home Saturday to Screaming Eagles Arena for a 1 p.m. tilt against Bowling Green State University.