KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan women's basketball team posted a convincing 94-52 win over Northern Illinois in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Monday night to advance to the eight-team tournament field in Cleveland.

The No. 7 seeded Broncos improved their record to 17-14 overall and have now won at least one MAC Tournament game for the fourth straight season under head coach Shane Clipfell. A number 10 seed, the Huskies conclude the 2015-16 season with a 11-19 record.

The Broncos' 42-point margin of victory set a new program record for the largest MAC Tournament win, passing the 41-point victory over Akron by the 2003 MAC Championship team.

WMU's 94 total points was also the most scored by the team this season, surpassing the previous mark of 92 recorded at Buffalo on Jan. 20.

Defensively, Western Michigan held the Huskies to 14 second-half points and just 31.3 percent shooting in the game, 13.8 percent in the second half.

“Man that was fun to watch,” Clipfell said. “Our team was locked in seemingly from the beginning. Northern Illinois showed they were capable by going on a nice run. The difference in this game from last game is we were answering their scores with our scores.”

WMU's offense started off hot in the first half, pouring in 53 points, the most in a half for WMU this season. To put that in perspective, the Broncos scored just 52 total points two games ago against Eastern Michigan.

WMU connected on 62.9 percent from the floor in the first half and went 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. It was the captains' night as seniors Jessica Jessing and Alex Morton and junior Meredith Shipman set the pace. Jessing had 15 points at the break while Morton and Shipman each had 10.

The Brown & Gold continued to build on its lead in the second half where the team shot 48.6 percent. WMU rattled off a 12-3 run and held the Huskies to 0-for-7 shooting to begin the third quarter.

WMU outscored NIU 20-8 in the third quarter and 21-6 in the fourth. The Huskies went 0-for-10 from the floor to end the game.

Jessing, who Monday afternoon was named Honorable Mention All-MAC, finished the game with a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds. She shot 8-for-11 with two three-pointers.

“She [Jessing] needed that more than anyone on this team,” Clipfell said. “We had a lot of shots that circled around and went in. In our struggles, some of those same shots would circle the rim and come out.”

Shipman ended her night with 18 points and downed 4-of-6 attempts from three-point range. Morton tallied 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds without having a turnover. Deborah Meeks had 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting with four rebounds.

Freshman Breanna Mobley grabbed 11 boards and had eight points, notching her eighth-straight game with at least 11 rebounds. Fellow freshman Meredith Miller chipped in eight points and sophomore Alexis Parks had six.

WMU finished 10-for-22 from beyond the arc for its most made three-pointers in nine games.

With the win, the Broncos advance to the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, where they will face No. 2 seeded Central Michigan in the third game of the day Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena. CMU won both regular-season meetings against the Broncos.

Follow the Broncos on Twitter @wmu_wbb for updates on the team!