Third quarter sinks BG women in loss to Northern Illinois

DeKALB, Ill. — Northern Illinois used a 26-14 third-quarter scoring blitz Saturday to beat the Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team 73-68 in a Mid-American Conference contest at NIU’s Convocation Center.

BGSU's Andrea Cecil, shown in a game against Toledo earlier this season, scored 20 points off the bench in the Falcons' loss at Northern Illinois Saturday.

Courtney Woods, the MAC’s leading scorer, collected 18 of her 29 points in the second half and also had 12 rebounds to lead the Huskies (13-11, 5-8 MAC). Mikayla Voigt added 15 points and six assists for NIU.

Andrea Cecil came off the bench to score 20 points for the Falcons (10-14, 2-11 MAC), who suffered their seventh consecutive loss. BG also got 12 points and 10 rebounds from Carly Santoro while Sydney Lambert added 11 points.

The Huskies scored eight of the game’s first 10 points to lead at the 7 minute, 28 second mark of the first quarter, but Bowling Green responded with a 10-2 run in the next three minutes thanks to five points from Santoro and Lambert.

There were two ties after that before a 3 by Lambert and a layup by Cecil gave the Falcons a 19-16 lead after one.

Northern Illinois got the first basket of the second, but Bowling Green went on a 12-2 run to build a 31-20 advantage with 5:21 left in the half. Cecil had six of those points, and freshman Kennedy Williams added five.

The Falcons still led by 11 before the Huskies closed the second with a six-point run that cut BG’s halftime lead to 35-30.

Northern Illinois managed to tie the game thanks to Woods, who scored the first five points of the third. But Williams made a 3-pointer at 7:13 to break the tie, and after the Huskies got two free throws from Woods, fellow freshman Madisen Parker’s 3 gave the Falcons a 43-39 lead at the 6:35 mark.

Cecil added a 3 with 6:04 left, but Northern Illinois responded with an 11-3 run to take a 50-48 lead late in the quarter. A layup by the Huskies Mikayla Voigt gave them a 56-49 lead after three.

The Falcons used a 7-0 run to tie the game at 58 with 7:38 left, and a 3 by Cecil gave BG a 61-60 lead with 7:01 on the clock.

But Northern Illinois scored the next six points to take the lead for good, and Bowling Green came no closer than three points the rest of the way.