Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO) and Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) each scored 17 points Sunday afternoon to lead the Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team to a 67-60 win over the Milwaukee Panthers at the Klotsche Center.

“I was proud of the way we fought every possession,” said head coach Lisa Carlsen following NIU’s second straight victory. “Milwaukee is a good team and very physical on the defensive end. They challenge you to be precise with the basketball and I felt, for the most part, we were.”

Stonebraker was 8-for-14 from the field and had a game-high nine rebounds. Doyle made 7-of-11 shots from the field with three three-pointers, adding three rebounds and three assists. Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) also had three triples and scored 11 points. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) was the fourth Huskie in double figures, scoring 10 points with five rebounds and a team-high five assists.

NIU (3-2) held an early 6-5 lead before Milwaukee went on a 6-0 run capped by a Jorey Buwalda three-point play to go up 11-6 with 6:07 to go in the first quarter. The Huskies put the clamps down defensively for the rest of the quarter, holding Milwaukee scoreless while scoring 10 straight points to take a 16-11 advantage. Stonebraker scored seven points in a row to put NIU ahead 13-11 with 0:52 to go with McCrea making a three with 0:05 to close the quarter.

Milwaukee’s (2-5) Kacee Baumhower scored seven straight points to start the second quarter, putting the Panthers up 18-16 with 7:52 to go until halftime. The lead traded hands five times with Baumhower tying the game at 25 after a McCrea three put NIU ahead 25-22. The Huskies broke the tie with a 14-2 run over the last 3:21. Stonebraker started the run with a layup, followed by back-to-back Doyle threes. Koker ended the half with a layup that put NIU ahead 39-27 at the break.

The Panthers got within two points midway through the third quarter as a pair of Kamy Peppler free throws punctuated a 9-2 Milwaukee run that made the score 47-45. NIU got its lead back up to double-digits at the 1:01 mark as back-to-back Stonebraker baskets started an 8-0 run that put the Huskies ahead 55-45. The Panthers made one last run in the fourth quarter, getting threes from Baumhower and Jada Williams to get within four, 59-55, with 6:20 to go but that was as close as Milwaukee got. Doyle kickstarted a 7-0 NIU run with a layup in transition and a three as Koker added a basket that put the Huskies up 66-55 with just over two minutes to go.

“We shared the basketball really well today,” Carlsen said. “Our ability to find the open player, whether on the next pass or the one after that, was really good. We’ve proven over the first five games that when we get good looks we’re efficient shooting the basketball.”

NIU shot 45.8 percent from the field on Sunday with 17 assists on 27 made field goals. The Huskies also held a 39-31 rebounding edge. Baumhower led all scorers with 21 points, adding four rebounds and five assists. Anna Lutz added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.

The Huskies return to the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Nov. 27 to take on the UIC Flames at 6 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com and the NIU Athletic Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225).