Missouri 47, Northern Illinois 44
Detroit 83, Toledo 72
Ohio State 83, Western Michigan 46
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Missouri 47, Northern Illinois 44
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team held SEC foe Missouri to 47 points and caused the Tigers to turn the ball over 19 times at Mizzou Arena Sunday afternoon. Attempting one final shot after a missed free throw with eight seconds left, the Tigers blocked the Huskies’ final shot to defeat NIU, 47-44. Missouri extended its home non-conference winning streak to 30 games with the win.
Seniors Amanda Corral (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) and Danny Pulliam (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) combined for 25 points as Corral shared the lead for all scorers in the game with 13. MU’s Jordan Frerricks led the Tigers with 13 points and eight boards.
The Huskies (2-5) played the final 4:29 within four points of the Tigers (8-2) as they tied the game, 42-42, on a three-point basket from Pulliam. NIU also held Mizzou to a season-low in scoring. The Tigers entered the game averaging 71.2 points per game.
“Our effort tonight turned into a great competitiveness and I think that’s the hardest I’ve seen us compete this year. We definitely defended like there’s no tomorrow and we showed what a good defensive team we are and how well we can pressure other teams,” said Head Coach Kathi Bennett.
“We struggled a little bit offensively at the beginning but we made some big shots to gain the lead and even tie it late in the second half. We played with a lot of poise late,” added Bennett.
Missouri started the game with three-straight field goals, including two behind the arc, to build an 8-2 lead over the Huskies. A pair of free throws by Corral prior to the first media timeout started 9-0 run for NIU that put the Huskies on top, 11-8, with 12:03 left in the first.
Freshman Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) hit a three-pointer to cut the Huskie deficit to one point, 8-7, with 15:15 remaining. A layup by Pulliam gave NIU the lead at the 13:58 mark, followed by another Pulliam layup to put the Huskies on top by three heading into the media timeout.
NIU’s pressure defensively was the prime catalyst for the Huskie lead as it created 12 turnovers in the opening 12 minutes. Mizzou would bounce back at the end of the half, creating a 12-0 run in the final minutes. Corral broke the duck with a basket in the lane as NIU trailed the Tigers at halftime, 22-15.
The two teams opened it up offensively in the second stanza with NIU pacing the way with a 12-of-27 (.444) shooting performance, including an 4-for-8 clip from behind the three-point line.
Four of the Huskies 29 points in the period came via fast break layups from Corral, who twice intercepted passes around the Missouri key and ran the ball down the court for wide open shots.
Mizzou looked to break away from the Huskies as it built a nine-point lead in the second half. However, NIU clawed back to close the Tiger gap. MU went up by four with 59 seconds left as Bri Porter made two free throws and Morgan Eye’s hit a jumper to put Missouri on top 46-44.
Going right back down the floor, freshman Renee Sladek (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) sunk a layup and was fouled with 25 seconds left to close the NIU deficit to two points, 46-44, and possibly within one with a free throw attempt upcoming.
After missing the shot, the Tigers sank one more free throw with eight seconds left as Maddie Stock failed to make her second attempt.
With sophomore Amber Gray (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) snatching the rebound and dishing it to classmate Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creeak), the guard ran the ball up the court and threw up a three-point shot with one second left. Stock would gain redemption after the missed free throw as she blocked the final shot to seal the MU win, 47-44.
NIU’s ball distribution topped Missouri’s as they led in assists, 12-8. NIU led in steals, 8-6, and committed the fewest turnovers in the matchup, 19-12. The Huskies held Mizzou to a 35-percent field goal percentage.
The Huskies return to the floor Wednesday night against SIUE in NIU’s Hoops for Soups night. Every fan who brings canned food items will receive $1 admission to the game and for every ticket sold, Bennett will donate 50-cents to Hope Haven in DeKalb. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
Detroit 83, Toledo 72
TOLEDO, OH – Detroit buried 15 three-point field goals to take down Toledo, 83-72, in Sunday’s final game of the Glass City Classic before 3,906 fans in Savage Arena. With the loss, UT falls to 4-4 on the season.
The Titans (4-5) shot an impressive 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from beyond the arc to end a four-game losing skid against the Rockets. The duo of Rosanna Reynolds and Ellisha Crosby did a bulk of the damage from distance, knocking down 12 of the triples. Reynolds shot 7-of-12 from three-point range and Crosby finished 5-of-7 to hand Toledo its first home loss this season.
Reynolds led all scorers with 26 points and was named to the GCC All-Tournament Team, while Crosby was close behind with 24 points and was selected the tourney MVP. The duo also combined for 17 boards and played all but two minutes in today’s non-league matchup.
Detroit also received solid efforts from Darianne Seward (14 pts.) and Haleigh Ristovski (13 pts., 10 rebs.) to bounce back from a setback against Southeast Missouri yesterday.
Junior Brenae Harris paced the Midnight Blue & Gold with a collegiate-best 25 points and she was selected to the all-tourney squad. Harris shot 9-of-20 from the field, including 5-of-11 from three-point land, and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe to score in double figures for the second-consecutive contest and third time this season.
Joining Harris in double digits was junior Ana Capotosto (14 pts.), freshman Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott (12 pts.) and sophomore Janice Monakana (10.0 ppg).
Harris and Capotosto were the only Rockets to score at least 10 points in both games this weekend, averaging 18.0 and 16.0 ppg, respectively.
Ohio State 83, Western Michigan 46
COLUMBUS, Ohio- Western Michigan didn’t back down from Big Ten opponent Ohio State, but the Buckeyes’ star backcourt of Kelsey Mitchell and Ameryst Alston was too much to contain, leading their team to an 83-46 victory over the visiting Broncos Sunday at Value City Arena.
WMU went almost basket-for-basket with the Buckeyes over the first 15 minutes of the game and out-rebounded OSU in the first half, 22-14. The Broncos trailed 15-14 halfway through the period and by only three, 24-21, with 4:45 remaining in the first.
From there Mitchell hit another level, spurring a 15-1 Ohio State run that turned a three-point game into a 17-point halftime (39-22) deficit for the Broncos. Mitchell knocked down two three’s, a pair of jumpers and converted two free throws to score 12 of Ohio State’s 15 points in the run.
Mitchell entered the game as the Big Ten’s leading scorer and ranked fourth in the nation averaging 25.0 ppg. She and Alston (21.6 ppg) combine to make the top backcourt in the country. Mitchell ended the day with 22 points, while Alston pumped in 21.
The Broncos’ record falls to 4-3 and Ohio State improves to 7-4 on the season. All three of Western Michigan’s losses have been on the road against formidable opponents.Two of the losses were against Big Ten foes - Ohio State and Michigan, and the third was against the No. 1 ranked mid-major program Green Bay.
After a quiet start to the season, Western Michigan junior forward Miracle Woods has reached her last season form. She scored a team-high 18 points to lead the Broncos and scored 16 points in each of the previous two games. Woods also grabbed seven rebounds and had three blocks and a steal against the Buckeyes.
Junior Jessica Jessing scored in double digits for the fifth time this season, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds. Senior forward Marquisha Harris made her first appearance of the season, coming off the bench in the final minutes of the first half.
Ohio State had four players score in double figures and two players record double-digit rebounds. The Buckeyes shot 45.6 percent for the game and outscored Western Michigan by 20 in the second half. WMU shot 27.4 percent for the game.
After playing four of five games on the road, Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo to host Trine on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m.. It is the second of only two home games for WMU in the month of December.
The Broncos then head back out for three more on the road, at in-state rival Detroit on Dec. 20 and for two games in New York at the Stony Brook Classic, facing host Stony Brook on Dec. 28 and Holy Cross on Dec. 29.
