DEKALB, Ill. – The duo of freshman Megan Wagner and redshirt freshman Taylor Williams each scored in double figures as the Western Michigan women's basketball team fell to Northern Illinois on the road 73-56 on Saturday afternoon.

The duo of Wagner and Williams combined to scored 25 points on 10-of-25 shooting from the field with 11 rebounds, two assists, three blocks and five steals. The freshman duo accounted for 44.6 percent of WMU's total offense against the Huskies.

Freshman Megan Wagner led the Broncos on Saturday with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Wagner was also 3-of-6 from behind the three-point line and had four rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench.

Redshirt freshman Taylor Williams had an all-around game for the Broncos with 12 points, one shy of her career-high. Williams was 5-of-16 from the field and led WMU with seven rebounds. The forward also had two assists, three blocks and four steals in 29 minutes of work. Saturday's contest marked the third game this season Williams was the Broncos leading rebounder and third time Williams scored in double figures.

Senior Reilly Jacobson who entered the game as the Broncos leading scorer collected six points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field with six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Redshirt junior Abby Voss and sophomore Sydney Shafer each registered eight points with Voss ranking third on the team with four rebounds.

As a team Western Michigan shot 32.4 percent from the field against the Huskies and was 6-of-30 from long distance. The Broncos were outrebounded 54-32 as NIU held a 14-8 advantage on the offensive glass. WMU had 14 assists to NIU's nine to go along with five blocks and nine steals.

Western Michigan forced Northern Illinois to commit 22 turnovers, scoring 22 points off of Husky mistakes. NIU outscored WMU 34-26 in the paint with both teams registering 12 fast break points.

The Broncos have dropped four straight contests and now have an overall record of 1-4 and 0-3 in Mid-American Conference play. WMU now begins a brief two-game homestand beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 6 against Bowling Green. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. inside University Arena.

To begin the game WMU jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after a three-pointer from sophomore Sydney Shafer followed by a lay-up from senior Reilly Jacobson. NIU responded by embarking on a 14-2 run midway through the first quarter to gain a 14-7 advantage with 4:11 remaining.

WMU came roaring back with a 10-0 of its own to earn an 18-14 lead with 1:36 left in the first quarter. The Huskies answered with five straight points to end the quarter as the Broncos trailed by one after the first 10 minutes.

In the second quarter NIU went on an 8-0 run within the first three minutes of play to gain a 27-18 advantage. The Broncos halted the run after a Jacobson jumper to trim the deficit down to seven with 7:15 left to play in the first half.  Northern Illinois jumped out to a 13-point lead later in the second quarter, highlighting a 6-0 run. Down the stretch, WMU missed its final six field goals as NIU led 35-24 at halftime.

The Broncos raced out of the gate once again at the start of the third quarter as Shafer knocked down her second three-pointer of the game. The three highlighted a 5-0 run for the Broncos that cut the deficit down to six with 8:23 remaining. It was the closest WMU got in the third quarter as the two teams traded baskets through the midway point of the quarter. NIU scored 10 of the final 16 points in the quarter to grab a 50-38.

At the start of the fourth quarter the Broncos looked to rally and got to within 12 after two made free-throws from freshman Gabi Saxman. The Huskies continue to apply the pressure scoring 13 of the next 21 points to earn a 65-48 advantage at the halfway point of the fourth.

Down the stretch Western Michigan was unable to mount a comeback, making just one of their final seven field goals in the 73-56 loss. In the fourth quarter it was the Broncos youthful quartet that led the way as Megan Wagner, Gabi Saxman, Hannah Spitzley and Taylor Williams scored 14 of WMU's 18 points in the fourth.