Box Score DEKALB, Ill.- Freshman post Breanna Mobley tallied 24 points and a career-high 17 rebounds to lead the Western Michigan's women's basketball team to 64-60 comeback victory at Northern Illinois Saturday.
It was Mobley's fourth-straight double-double and sixth of the year. She has totaled 11 or more rebounds in each of the last seven games.
Senior forward Jessica Jessing also recorded a double-double, her third career, with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Meredith Shipman chipped in 13 points.
With the win, WMU clinched the No. 7 seed and a first round home game in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament. Northern Illinois was slated as the No. 10 seed and will travel to Kalamazoo Monday for a 7 p.m. contest. It will be the third meeting in the last five games between the Broncos and Huskies.
Western Michigan got behind early and trailed by as many as 15 in the second quarter before Mobley kick-started a Bronco run that helped cut the deficit to six at halftime, 35-29. Mobley had 11 points and 11 points at the half.
WMU continued its comeback in the third quarter, where the Broncos out-scored the Huskies 19-10. The final 10 minutes went back and fourth as the lead changed hands four times.
A layup by Mikayla Voigt gave Northern Illinois a 54-53 lead with 4:38 remaining. The Broncos responded with six straight points on a pair of layups by Mobley and a lay-in from Jessing to pull ahead by five. Western Michigan hung onto the lead the rest of the way.
Northern Illinois' Kelly Smith hit a bucket with 16 seconds left to bring the Huskies within two, 62-60. WMU senior Alex Morton calmly downed a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining to seal the win.
The Broncos shot just 30.2 percent in the first half, but warmed up to 50 percent in the second. Western Michigan also turned the tables defensively, holding Northern Illinois to 33.3 percent from the field in the second half after the Huskies shot 47.1 percent in the first.
Western Michigan concludes the regular season with a 16-14 overall record, going 8-10 in MAC play.
Voight had a team-high 17 points for Northern Illinois (11-18, 4-14 MAC). Smith totaled 16 for the Huskies.