Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
7-17,4-13MAC
Northern Illinois
12-13,9-8MAC
Comeback Falls Short for Women's Hoops at Northern Illinois, 72-65
2/23/2022 8:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Freshman Lachelle Austin dropped a career-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting
DEKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team erased a 17-point, first-half deficit, but ultimately fell to Northern Illinois University, 72-65, tonight, Feb. 23, inside the NIU Convocation Center.
Freshman Lachelle Austin (Redford, Mich.-Wayne Memorial) stepped up in a big way for the Eagles (7-17, 4-13 MAC) with a personal-best 18 points on an efficient 6-of-12 (50.0%) shooting clip. Junior Natalia Pineda (Miami, Fla.-John A. Ferguson) tacked on 10 points, while redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Florida International)) added nine.
Skanes pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end, and recorded a rejection. Austin paced the team in steals, with three.
How It Happened
Eastern Michigan struggled out of the gate, falling behind 21-10 at the end of the first quarter. Northern Illinois kept adding to that lead, building a 30-13 advantage before EMU went on a 5-0 run to narrow its deficit to 30-18. The Eagles were unable to narrow the gap any further, but did not lose ground either and entered halftime with a 38-26 deficit.
After intermission, the Green and White cut its deficit to 54-44 before going on an 8-0 run, punctuated by a three from Pineda, to trim NIU's advantage to 54-52 with 2:07 to go in the third. The Huskies countered and stretched its lead to 56-52 heading into the fourth. Eastern Michigan knocked down four three-pointers in the quarter to score 12 of its 26 total points.
Eastern tied the game, 63-63, in the fourth, but NIU closed the game on a 9-3 run to earn the victory by a final of 72-65. Eastern Michigan took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 10 of its 13 points in the paint.
Game Notes
» The Eastern Michigan bench made an impact by adding 28 points to its scoring output.
» Eastern Michigan cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 10 offensive boards in the game.
» Northern Illinois scored 21 points in the first quarter, the first time the Eagles have allowed 20+ points in the opening frame since Buffalo recorded 24 in the first stanza, Feb. 9. The most points EMU has allowed in the first frame is 27, achieved by both Oklahoma, Dec. 7, and Northern Illinois, Jan. 22
» Eastern Michigan was only able to knock down one three-pointer in the first half, going 1-for-9 (11.1%) in total.
» The EMU defense was incredibly disciplined in the opening half, never committing a shooting foul.
» Eastern forced Northern Illinois into 12 turnovers. The game is the third in-a-row in which the Eagles have won the turnover battle and 13th time in conference play.
» Austin had a solid overall game with personal-bests in points (18), field goals made (6), and free throw made (5). With 18 points, the freshman led EMU in scoring for the first time in her career. Additionally, the Redford, Mich. native played hard-nosed defense, coming away with three steals for the second game in-a-row.
» Pineda hit 2-of-5 (40.0%) from long-range, her sixth outing this season with multiple makes from deep and third game scoring in double digits (10 points).
» The Eastern Michigan offense got hot in the third quarter, knocking down 4-of-5 (80.0%) from three-point land and tallying 26 points. Coming into the game, the Eagles had connected on four-or-less triples over the course of an entire game on eight occasions. Furthermore, the team finished with six makes from beyond-the-arc, the third time they hit that mark this month.
Historical Notes
» Northern Illinois remains the leader in the all-time series as it holds a 39-20 advantage over Eastern Michigan.
Up Next
EMU will return to Ypsilanti to host the University of Toledo on Saturday, Feb. 26. Tipoff inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center is set for 2 p.m. The day will feature EMU's annual Play4Kay celebration, as well as Senior Day festivities for nine Eagles.
