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Women’s basketball beats Kent State on road

February 11, 2013
Ashley Sneed

Ashley Sneed

The NIU women’s basketball team posted a 52-47 victory Sunday over Mid-American Conference East Division foe Kent State.

The victory was the first for the Huskies at Kent State since Jan. 12, 1985. Northern Illinois improves to 7-16 on the season and 2-8 in conference play. Kent State falls to 3-20 overall and 1-9 in the MAC.

“It was an ugly win, but we did enough in the end to secure the victory,” said NIU head coach Kathi Bennett. “We tightened up defensively the last five minutes where we didn’t foul and we kept the ball alive on the offensive glass.

“It was at the eight-minute mark where we got three consecutive possessions where we kept the lead and kept the clock moving. It was a nice team win.”

Three Huskies finished in double figures with Amanda Corral leading the way with a game-high 18 points. Ashley Sneed finished with 13 points, while Jenna Thorp added 11.

After leading much of the game, a 7-0 Kent State run gave the Golden Flashes a 29-27 lead with 13:45 left to play in the game. It was short lived after a Sneed free throw and a three-pointer from Corral gave NIU a 31-29 advantage with 12:56 left to play. The Huskies would not trail the rest of the game.

Sneed’s free throw keyed an 11-1 run by the Huskies as NIU extended its lead to 38-30 with 9:07 left in the contest. Sneed accounted for eight of the 11 Huskie points during the run. Sneed scored 10 of her 13 points in the second half.

Amanda Corral

Amanda Corral

“She got to the rim a couple times,” Bennett said of Sneed. “Then she got an offensive board and a put back, and made a free throw. You can see her growing up as time goes on and the more minutes she gets.”

Northern Illinois outshot the Golden Flashes 40.5 percent to 36.2 from the field and shut down Kent State from three-point territory. The Golden Flashes were 0-8 from beyond the arc.

The Huskies won the rebounding battle as well, grabbing 32 boards to Kent State’s 26. Corral led all players with a game-high eight rebounds. It was the eighth time this season Corral has been the game’s top rebounder.

The Huskies return to the floor Saturday, Feb. 16, when NIU plays host to Bowling Green at the Convocation Center. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. CT. Fans can follow all the action live via Huskie All-Access and on Gametracker at NIUHuskies.com.

For more information on NIU women’s basketball and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.