The Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team fell to the Toledo Rockets, 72-52, on Wednesday night (Jan. 24) at Savage Arena. NIU (9-9, 3-4 MAC) led in the opening minutes of the game but Toledo (13-4, 6-1 MAC) came back and held the lead for the final three quarters.

In the third quarter, NIU trailed 45-32 before closing out the quarter on an 8-1 run to cut the deficit to 46-40 heading to the final quarter. In the fourth, Toledo extended the lead and didn’t let go of it as they claimed the victory.

Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) recorded a double-double, leading the Huskies with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

“I liked Jayden’s aggressiveness tonight,” NIU head coach Lisa Carlsen said. “From the get-go she knew that we were going to put her in a lot of ball screen situations, and she had to be able to manipulate the ball screen. I thought for the most part, she did that. She stayed consistent with that while playing a lot of minutes and so I was proud of her for that.”

The Huskies were outrebounded 55-41 and Toledo led in second chance points 23-6.

“Playing a team like Toledo, or any team in the MAC, we can’t give away possessions and we had too many possessions where we didn’t even have a shot,” said Carlsen. “The game was won and lost on the glass night, we gave up entirely too many offensive boards and second chance opportunities.”

The Huskies shot 35.6% from the field and held Toledo to just 30.1% in the game. Toledo made seven three-pointers to the Huskies’ four.

Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind/Bellmont) scored in double digits for the second consecutive game with 10 points, including two three-pointers. Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) scored five and grabbed eight rebounds.

Sophia Wiard scored 21 to lead Toledo while Quinesha Lockett scored 13 and picked up 12 rebounds for the Rockets.

NIU opened the game with a four-point lead, 7-3, as baskets by Marable, Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) and a three-pointer from Hunter pushed the Huskies ahead.

The Rockets closed the final five minutes of the first quarter on a 15-7 run. In the closing seconds of the quarter, a foul on a three-point attempt from Wiard put Toledo up 18-13 as she made all three free throws.

In the second quarter Toledo went ahead by 11, before a Huskie run capped off by a three-pointer from McCrea cut the deficit to just two, 28-26. Toledo scored the last six points of the first half and led 34-28 at the break.

The Rockets increased their lead to 13 in the third quarter, 45-32. Another Huskie run cut that deficit to just six as an 8-1 burst that was finished off by threes from Hunter and a quarter ending three from Tara Stauffacher (Columbus, Wis./Wisconsin) lowered the deficit to 46-40.

Toledo opened the fourth quarter on a 15-6 run to take a 15-point lead, 61-46, and put the Huskies out of reach.

NIU will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 27, as the Huskies host Akron at 1 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center. Available for all weekend home games throughout the remainder of the basketball season, NIU Athletics is offering its new 2024 Pack. The new package includes four game tickets, four hot dogs, four chips and four sodas for just $40.
The 2024 Pack can be purchased online at NIUHuskies.com/tickets using the promo code 2024PACK for any men’s or women’s Saturday home game this season. Game tickets for the 2024 Pack will be delivered digitally; on game day concession vouchers can be picked up at the NIU Convocation Center Box Office and redeemed at the arena concession stand at any time during the game.