DEKALB, Ill. - The Western Michigan women's basketball team was unable to overcome a first half deficit despite a good effort in the second half at Northern Illinois University on Monday, Feb. 18, falling 77-64 against the Huskies. 

Down by 19 points at halftime, the Broncos battled back to outscore NIU 38-32 in the final 20 minutes but were not able to trim the Huskie lead to under double-digits in the Mid-American Conference road setback. 

"We never gave up and I liked our team's fight," said head coach Shane Clipfell. "We were better in our one-on-one defense in the second half and gave up too many points off turnovers in the first half."

Northern Illinois shot efficiently from the field, going 33-of-63 (52.4%) from the field, compared to a 38.5 percent (25-of-65) mark for the Brown & Gold. Four Huskies scored in double figures while out-rebounding WMU 43-31. 

Deja Wimby led WMU, tying a season-high with 21 points and a season-high nine field goals made, nine rebounds, and four assists. Kamrin Reed shot 6-of-10 from the field, good for 15 points. Leighah-Amori Wool and Meredith Miller followed with 11 and nine points, respectively, while tallying a trio of three-point field goals each. 

Leading 22-17 after the first 10 minutes, an 8-0 NIU run to open the second quarter sparked a nice finish to the first half in which WMU was outscored 23-9 in the first quarter to trail 45-26 at the intermission. The Huskies shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half with 20 made field goals.

Wool opened the second-half scoring with one of her three three-pointers on the night while WMU outscored NIU 17-13 in the third quarter to cut the Huskie lead to 58-43 heading into the final 10 minutes, closing out the third quarter on an 8-0 run capped off by a Wimby steal and fast-break layup.

Western Michigan came within 11 points of the home team twice in the fourth quarter. A Reed three-pointer with 3:27 left on the game clock cut the Huskie advantage to 72-61, but a NIU three-pointer with 1:50 remaining to go back up by 14 coupling with Wimby fouling out put the Broncos' comeback hopes out of reach. 

"I think the second quarter was a combination of things that didn't go our way, and that dug us a big hole, but I liked to see how this team fought and battled based on everything that we've gone through recently," Clipfell said. 

Up Next
Western Michigan, now 8-15 overall and 2-10 in the MAC, returns to University Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 20, hosting Kent State during the #Play4Kay Pink Game. Fans are encourage to wear pink to support the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The fund's mission is to extend and improve the lives of those who are battling cancer, on our way to finding a cure, by raising money for research and assisting the underserved. WMU is partnering with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund by joining the Play4Kay National Free Throw Challenge. WMU fans can pledge a dollar amount for each free throw made during the month of February or simply make a fixed donation at https://pledgeit.org/westernmichigan-play4kay. 

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