Women's Basketball Rolls Past NIU

Box score.

DEKALB, Ill.--The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team came out firing and cruised to a 63-37 victory over a host Northern Illinois squad here Wednesday night in the Convocation Center. The Eagles, who defeated the Huskies earlier this season back in Ypsilanti, opened the game on a 20-0 run and never looked back to secure the victory.

Senior guard Ryan Coleman led four Eagles in double figures with 17 points, including connecting on 5-of-12 from the field. Junior Sarah VanMetre poured in 15 points while senior Nikki Knapp added 13 points with six rebounds. Sophomore Patrice McKinney turned in 11 points and four assists. The win boosted EMU to 17-6 on the year and 11-1 in league play.

Northern Illinois, now 9-14 (5-7 MAC) on the year, was paced by Tara Michaels with 11 points. Jamie Wilson led the Huskies with six rebounds while two others grabbed five.

Head Coach Suzy Merchant’s Eagles held Northern Illinois to just 28.0 percent shooting from the field (14-of-50) and also scored 22 points off turnovers.

The Eagles opened the game with plenty of offensive firepower, rushing out to a 13-0 lead just four minutes into the game as McKinney posted six points while Coleman added five. Eastern Michigan was 6-of-6 from the field in the opening minutes, while NIU was ice-cold missing on two shots and turning the ball over five times over that same span of time.

Things did not get any easier for the Huskies, as the EMU saw the lead increase to 20-0 as Knapp laid one off the glass at the 12:22 mark. NIU finally got on the board after nearly eight minutes, as Mary Basic connected on a three-point play to make it 20-3 with 12:05 left on the clock. The Huskies would add three more points while holding EMU without a score for over three minutes. A Sarah VanMetre trey keyed a 7-0 EMU run over the next two minutes as the Eagles’ edge grew to 21, 27-6, with 6:24 to go in the period.

NIU was able to add a pair of field goals in the closing minutes but EMU answered each time down the floor, as the Eagles took a 34-10 lead into the lockerroom at the half. The Eastern defense was in the zone holding the Northern Illinois to just 18.2 percent over the contest’s first 20 minutes (4-of-22) with 16 turnovers. Coleman led all scorers with 12 points and VanMetre added 11 to pace the Eastern attack. Basic was the NIU leader with three points as just three other Huskies broke into the scorebook.

Following the intermission NIU scored four quick points by Tara Mitchels but it was quickly answer by back-to-back scores by Knapp to make it 38-14. After managing just four field goals in the opening stanza, the Huskies equaled that total just five minutes into the second half as Kristen Wiener hit a jumper in the lane with 14:56 to go in the game.

With the final outcome long decided, the two squads played even basketball over the game’s closing minutes with NIU unable to get any closer an 24-points the rest of the way.

The Eagles are next in action Saturday, Feb. 18, when it battles the University of Toledo Rockets. Tip-off is scheduled of 7 p.m. at Savage Hall in Toledo, Ohio.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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