Nov. 18, 2008

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

MACOMB, Ill.-The NIU women's basketball team posted its first victory of the season in convincing fashion, defeating Western Illinois University, 70-48, on the road Tuesday night.

The Huskies (1-1) fell behind 11-10 early in the contest, but rattled off a 19-2 run to a 29-13 lead with 8:48 left to play in the first half and never looked back. Sparked by the defense, NIU caused 12 Westerwind (1-1) errors in the first half and capitalized, scoring 18 points off WIU turnovers. NIU forced 25 Western turnovers for the game and scored 25 points off them.

"Defensively, we were very aggressive, which was our emphasis going in," NIU head coach Carol Owens said. "We just had good production from our bench. They gave us a spark. I was pleased overall with our intensity on defense."

The three-point shooting from junior Kylie York (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) and senior Jessie Wilcox also keyed the Huskie run. Wilcox came off the bench and went off, shooting 4-7 from three-point territory in the first half, while York went 2-5 from beyond the arc in the half. Both finished in double figures with York scoring 11 points and Wilcox leading the Huskies with a game-high 16 points, 14 coming in the first half.

"Jessie was really good coming off the bench for us," Owens said. "I felt Kylie and Marke were pretty steady throughout the game."

The Huskies' inside game was also solid, outrebounding Western Illinois, 41-32, and outscoring the Westerwinds in the paint, 26-18. Center Ebony Ellis (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Township) finished with 10 points, while forward Mauvolyene Adams led both teams in rebounding with a career-high 13 boards and added four points.

The Huskies will be back in action Friday, Nov. 21 when the Huskies face UMBC in the Seton Hall Classic. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Central time.