It was a team effort for the NIU women’s basketball team, beating Western Illinois 70-48.

All 13 Huskies chipped in as both the starters and bench played a crucial role in the win.

Starting guard Kylie York and center Ebony Ellis provided 11 and 10 points respectively for the Huskies. It was, however, NIU guard Jessie Wilcox that led the pack in scoring. Coming off the bench, the senior put up 16 points, going 4-for-9 from behind the arc.

“Jessie Wilcox came off the bench and gave us a huge start,” said NIU head coach Carol Owens. “It was a true team performance.”

Rebounding was crucial in the Huskies’ (1-1) victory as they out-rebounded the Westerwinds (1-1) 35-24.

Ellis led the NIU starters with seven boards. Yet, it was the bench that provided 57 percent of the Huskies’ rebounds as forwards Mauvolyene Adams and Aileen Rossouw pulled down 13 and seven boards respectively.

Adams’ effort on the glass came on both sides of the court as she collected six of her 13 rebounds during offensive possessions.

“[Rebounding] has been a true emphasis since we’ve came here,” Owens said. “We’re pretty athletic in the post.”

Owens, however, pointed to the defense as the key in the win. NIU held WIU to 34.8 percent from the field.

The Huskies focused their defensive effort to limiting the Westerwinds’ three-point shots. Overall, WIU was held to 3-of-11 from three-point-land in the NIU win.

“We put a lot of pressure on the ball,” Owens said. “We knew they were good at shooting 3-pointers, and we wanted to take that away.”

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