DEKALB, Ill. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team collected their second straight win with a 68-65 victory over Northern Illinois on the road on Saturday afternoon.
In an extremely fast-paced and score-trading game in DeKalb, the Broncos shot 28-of-62 (45.2 percent) from the filed compared to the Huskies shooting 39.7 percent off 25 field goals. The teams were tied with 38 rebounds and 19 turnovers apiece. Saturday's contest saw five ties and six lead changes over the course of the game.
Breanna Mobley had 18 points and 11 rebounds, good for her 15
th double-double of the season. Two more Bronco starters reached double digits,
Leighah-Amori Wool and
Chelayne Bailey each with 11 points. Wool went the distance on offense, shooting 3-for-5 (60 percent) from long range. Kamrin Read and
Jordan Walker tied for the lead in assists with four each.
It was a total team effort for the Brown and Gold as nine of the ten players that found the court scored.
Ashley Konkle led the second string with eight points and four rebounds, sinking the first three-pointer of her career.
Reilly Jacobson converted three field goals with two rebounds.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth 10 minutes with Northern Illinois taking a 19-15 lead into the second quarter. The Huskies put up a trio of three-point shots in the frame, while WMU was held to just one in the first minute of the game, from Wool.
Western Michigan came into the second quarter with comeback momentum. Konkle sunk a corner three and Northern Illinois responded with one of their own. A jumper from Bailey, followed by shots at the line and another field goal by Reed tied the game 24-24. The Broncos closed out the quarter behind a three from Reed and points from Mobley to head to the locker room just one point behind their opponent.
The third quarter saw WMU outscore the Huskies 24-16 in the hunt for the lead. The Broncos began to extend their lead after five straight points from Bailey and a jumper by Mobley. Jacobson came on to the court to contribute five points including her first three-point shot of the day. Northern Illinois fought back with a 5-0 run halfway through the quarter but were unable to hold on to the lead as Western Michigan went on their own run, behind back-to-back threes from Wool. WMU took a seven-point advantage into the last stanza thanks to their highest-scoring quarter of the game.
Mobley led the Brown and Gold in the final frame, pouring in ten points. The home team refused to go down without a fight, opening the quarter with a 9-0 scoring run to tie things up at 55-55. The charge was broken up by
Maddie Watters, off the bench to sink a corner three. Mobley took charge with four straight field goals to take back the lead with a minute left to play. Despite both teams getting into turnover trouble in the final possessions, WMU held on to the lead in the crucial last seconds to bring home the win.
Western Michigan hosts Bowling Green on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. inside University Arena.
