The Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team used a 13-5 run in the last 5:19 Saturday afternoon to come away with a 66-64 win over the Western Michigan Broncos at University Arena.

“Today’s game was great preparation for next week,” said head coach Lisa Carlsen after Saturday’s victory. “You expect to have 40 minutes of hard-fought battles at this time of year. Western Michigan provides different challenges than other teams, but I think finding ways to win together has been our m.o. [modus operandi] this season.”

With the win and an Ohio loss at Miami, the Huskies finished Mid-American Conference play 8-10 and tied with the Bobcats for sixth place. NIU earned the six-seed for the MAC Tournament, which starts Wednesday, March 13, by virtue of the Huskies’ win at Ohio earlier in the season. The Huskies will take on the Kent State Golden Flashes in the final quarterfinal of the day.

NIU (15-15, 8-10 MAC) trailed 59-53 with 5:34 to go in the fourth quarter. Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) and Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) combined to score six straight points for the Huskies to tie the game at 59 with 3:37 to play. Western Michigan then scored five of the next seven points with a Kaitlyn Zarycki layup putting the Broncos up 64-61 with 2:29 to go.

The Huskies got within one with 2:01 remaining when Brooke Blumenfield (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) picked up a loose ball and scored in the lane to make the score 64-63. NIU took the lead with 0:33 seconds left when Laura Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall) found Stonebraker under the basket to put the Huskies up 65-64.

“We knew we had to take advantage of Brooke’s size inside,” Carlsen said. “There aren’t many teams that we can say we have a size advantage against when we step on the floor but that was the case today. We did a pretty good job of executing the gameplan today of getting the ball to our forwards at the basket.”

The Broncos missed a three on their next possession and were forced to foul to save time on the clock. Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) split two free throws with 12.6 seconds left to give NIU a 66-64 lead. De’Ahna Richardson missed in a three in the final seconds but Zarycki got the offensive rebound. She put up a putback but did not get it off in time as NIU hung on for its second straight win.

Western Michigan (12-17, 7-11 MAC) was 6-for-12 from the three-point arc in the first quarter but the Huskies scored the last four points to get within four, 20-16, at the end of the opening period. That run extended to a 9-0 run early in the second as a Hunter three and a Blumenfeld basket gave NIU a 21-20 lead with 8:48 left until halftime. The Broncos took a 24-23 lead with 7:44 to go in the second on a Nile Muguira Orbe three. NIU responded with a 14-1 run over the next 6:07 to take a 37-26 advantage. Stonebraker had six points in that stretch as threes from Marable and Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) capped the run. Megan Wagner made a three for Western Michigan in the final minute of the half to make the score 37-29.

The Broncos went on a 14-5 run to start the third quarter, scoring seven straight points to take a 43-42 lead with 4:45 left on a Muguira Orbe three. The Huskies came back and scored the next five points. A Hunter three and a Marable layup gave NIU a 47-43 edge with 2:46 to go in the quarter. Muguira Orbe cut the lead in half with 1:40 to go to make the score 47-45 going into the fourth.

NIU had four players score in double figures Saturday led by Stonebraker’s 18 points and 14 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. Marable had 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Hunter had 11 points off the bench and Blumenfeld finished with 10 points. The Huskies shot 48.3 percent from the field, bolstered by it’s 53 percent in the fourth quarter alone. NIU dominated on the glass, outrebounding Western Michigan 42-23.

“We were able to fight and grind out a win to keep building momentum,” said Carlsen. “That’s the mentality you need heading to Cleveland, regardless of who you’re playing. Both us and Kent State are different than we were back when we first played. It’ll take a great effort. I know our team and our coaching staff are excited for this challenge. We’ll get back at it Monday, get a couple of good days of practice and continue to roll the dice and see what happens.”

The NIU-Kent State quarterfinal will be the final game of the day on Wednesday, March 13 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Tip-off will be at approximately 5:30 p.m. CT or 30 minutes after the game prior. Fans can purchase tickets to Wednesday’s quarterfinal at this link on Monday, March 11 at 10 a.m. CT.