The CMU women’s basketball team picked up its second win over the NIU Huskies (4-17, 2-8) this Saturday, 75-70. This win puts the Chippewas at 13-7 overall and 7-3 in the Mid-American Conference.

NIU was inevitably a different team today than the one the Chippewas saw back in December. This was largely in part due to the presence of the Huskies’ main ball handler, guard Nadechka Laccen, who was out in their first matchup.

“[Their] coach has them playing hard. When you play hard and execute the game plan, anything can happen,” head coach Kristin Haynie said. “They did a good job disrupting us with their zone and turning us over.”

Scoring came much easier for the Huskies in this game, especially from the three-point line.

NIU shot almost 53% from downtown and 51% from the field, a drastic improvement from their 38-point loss to the Chippewas earlier in the season.

Most of CMU's success in the first half can be attributed to Sophomore guard Madi Morson and Sophomore forward Ayanna-Sarai Darrington, who combined for 20 of the team’s 29 points in the half.

After leading by a point at the half, the Chippewas came out flat in the third quarter. The Huskies quickly took advantage, picking up a seven-point leadand hitting big shots from the three.

CMU’s Sophomore guard Jada Mosely answered, though, hitting two threes within two minutes and cutting the deficit to four. A three-pointer by Freshman guard Lilah Turnbull and two free throws from Darrington allowed the Chippewas to end the quarter down by only one, 46-45.

"They’re getting better every game,” Haynie said about these underclassmen. “Jayda’s confidence knocking down the open shots, we need that from them, and we will see it to continue.”

Mosely came in clutch again in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 55, then again at 65. She shot 57% and went 4-7 from beyond the arc, ending the night with a season high of 12 points.

A steal by Darrington with 25 seconds left in the game and a foul on the other end put CMU up 72-68, which sealed the win for the Chippewas.

Central Michigan was surgical in the remainder of the game, fighting for every loose ball and sinking free throws when it mattered the most.

"We started to play Chippewa basketball in the fourth quarter with our toughness, grit and hunger to want to win and finish the game,” Haynie said.

Despite the win, turnovers still proved to be an issue for the Chippewas in this matchup, as they had 27.

"They used three different defenses, and it was making us off balance and stagnant most of the game instead of being aggressive and confident,” Haynie said.

Morson led all scorers on Saturday with 26 points. Darrington had 17 points, nine of which she picked up in the first half. Darrington was CMU’s glass cleaner yet again with 11 rebounds.

Senior forward Demetria Prewitt followed closely behind with 10 boards.

Looking forward, Haynie has a simple solution to picking up more of these MAC wins.

“It starts in practice; we need to stay focused and execute the game plan in practice so it will carry over to the game.”

Central Michigan stays on the road for its next game and will take on Buffalo. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. on Wednesday.