Northern Illinois NIU 5-2

Bradley BRAD 2-5

Northern Illinois NIU

5-2

Final

Dec. 02, 2016

Bradley BRAD

2-5

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Northern Illinois NIU	16	20	27	18	81
Bradley BRAD	16	4	15	16	51

Box Score

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

NIU Tops Bradley 81-51

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 12/2/2016 9:48:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley held the nation's top scoring offense to its lowest point total of the season and sophomore Vanessa Markert (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) turned in her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but Northern Illinois topped the Braves 81-51 Friday night at Renaissance Coliseum.

Markert scored a game-high 14 points and hauled down a career-best 11 rebounds for the first double-double of her career to help lead Bradley. Senior Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine), the top rebounder in the MVC, had another big night on the glass with 16 boards (nine offensive) and also had eight points, three assists, one block and one steal.

Junior Anneke Schlueter (Ulm, Germany/Max-Weber-Schule) reached double figures for the fifth consecutive outing with 12 points in addition to tying Lerma for team-high honors with three assists for the short-handed Braves, who were without starter Shareece Burrell (Des Moines, Iowa/East) and freshman Chelsea Brackmann (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower).

Northern Illinois (5-2 overall) entered the contest averaging 95 points per game and Bradley (2-5 overall) limited the Huskies to 16 first quarter points, playing NIU even through the first 10 minutes.

The Braves trailed 12-4 midway through the first quarter before a 12-4 run to close the period knotted the score at 16-16. Junior Danielle Brewer (Coatesville, Ind.) started a 7-0 run with a layup and Markert added a three from the wing. Schlueter pulled Bradley within one at 12-11 with a jumper in the lane and later in the period knocked down one of her two three-pointers on the night. A Lerma layup to beat the buzzer tied the score at 16-16 after the first quarter.

Bradley scored the first basket of the second quarter nearly three minutes into the frame to grab an 18-16 lead, but Northern Illinois answered with 14-0 run over the next five minutes as the Huskies went in front 30-18 en route to a 36-20 halftime advantage. NIU missed its first eight shots of the second quarter, before closing the period by making 7-of-10, which included 4-of-5 from three-point range.

The Braves committed a season-low nine turnovers, but struggled from the free throw line (12-for-23) and shot just 24.7 percent from the field; including 3-for-26 from beyond the arc. Northern Illinois was 18-for-32 (56.3 percent) from the field in the second half and pulled away with a 27-point second quarter as the Huskies won their fourth consecutive matchup in the series with the 81-51 victory.

Six NIU players scored in double figures, led by Mikayla Voigt and Janae Poisson, who each tallied 13 points. Ally Lehman recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Huskies.

The matchup with Northern Illinois concluded a season-long five-game home stand for Bradley with the Braves slated to open a seven-game road swing Monday at Western Illinois (7 p.m.).

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