Senior guard Tavelyn James scored 29 points and the Eastern Michigan women’s basketball team won its seventh straight game, 77-57, at Northern Illinois on Saturday.

Sophomore guard Natachia Watkins added 18 and 12 rebounds for the Eagles (19-7, 11-2), who have now won three consecutive games by 20 points or more and 10 of their last 11 overall.

Thomas, the nation’s second leading scorer, had 16 points in the first half as Eastern Michigan took a 42-28 lead into halftime.

A Paige Redditt layup five minutes into the second half extended the Eagles’ lead to 20 points (52-32) and the Huskies would never get back within 17.

Redditt finished with 10 points and Desyree Thomas contributed nine points and six assists for the Eagles.

Kim Davis led Northern Illinois (12-13, 6-7) with 26 points and nine rebounds.

The win sets up a battle for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division standings at EMU’s Convocation Center at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Eagles host Toledo (18-7, 11-2), which kept pace by beating Western Michigan, 76-50, on Saturday.