EVANSTON—Remember that 99-74 thumping the NIU women’s basketball team put to Northwestern last season?

Apparently the Wildcats did, because Tuesday night the Big 10 school returned the 25-point favor by pounding the Huskies 91-66. The loss snapped the Huskies’ (17-5, 9-0) winning streak at 10 games.

“We just got sent back to DeKalb,” NIU coach Jane Albright admitted. “Tonight, they were better than us in every position. It was the same thing that happened last year at our place.”

One of the biggest reasons NIU dominated the Wildcats last season was because the Huskies outrebounded the visitors, 60-28.

Tonight, NU pulled down a 48-38 advantage on the boards which threw NIU’s game plan out of whack.

“Our game is dictated by two things,” Albright said. “One is our ability to rebound and run with the ball. And tonight our high rebounder was a guard. When that happens to us, we are a very average team.”

No. 19 NU displayed its superiority from the opening tip.

NU jumped out to a 10-0 lead before Lisa Foss was able to get NIU on the board with a jumper at the 17:22 mark.

“We were rattled the whole night,” Albright said. “Even from the very first few minutes. What they did controlled us.”

Foss managed 21 points and made just 10 of 25 shots from the floor. Amazingly, Foss only visited the charity stripe one time. As a team, the Huskies had only 13 free throw attempts, compared to NU’s 35.

“Our ability to get to the foul line dictates the courage of the game, which we could not find in the first half,” Albright said.

The Huskies trailed by 11 at the break, 42-31, but were able to cut the deficit to 47-43 after four minutes.

Dee Dee Jeske led the surging Huskies in that spurt and notched 14 points and seven caroms in the game.

“Dee Dee Jeske had a great game,” NU coach Don Perrelli said. “When Northern cut the lead to four points, we were fortunate to hold the lead and control it from there.”