Apparently, the NIU women’s basketball team came down with a bad case of “looking ahead” prior to its showdown with UIC.

That was evident Wednesday night as NIU (20-5, 12-0) barely survived a 9-15 UIC team that the Huskies pounded by 41 points earlier this season, 67-59.

NIU utilized strong second-half defense to squeak out its 27th consecutive North Star Conference victory and third-straight 20-win season.

Perhaps the Huskies envisioned themselves on the plane heading to the Northern Lights Tournament in Anchorage, Ala., that was scheduled to depart Chicago after the NIU-UIC contest.

“I think we’re all on the plane going to Alaska,” NIU coach Jane Albright agreed. “You don’t want to be like that, but I think it’s probably natural what we did.”

Keyed by the play of sophomore forward Dianna Wingis, the Huskies turned their defense up a notch in the latter half to pull this one out.

With just 1:31 to play, UIC closed to within three points (62-59) and had a chance to make it a one-point game, but Wingis blocked a UIC shot. Then, on the offensive side, Wingis snagged a crucial offensive rebound and was fouled on the ensuing put-back. The sophomore nailed the free throws with 1:08 remaining to ice the triumph.

“We shot in the twenties (29 percent) in the first half,” Albright said, “and I think that’s the lowest we’ve ever shot as long as I’ve been here. But I think we had a lot of character to come back and win.”

Things looked good for NIU in the opening minutes of the game when the Huskies jumped out to a 15-8 lead, but UIC roared back after a time-out to knot the contest at 18 with 8:40 remaining.

Both teams shared a couple of buckets before the Flames took their first lead of the game at the 3:30 point, 22-21. NIU would consistently get to within a point of the UIC advantage, but the Flames held their ground as the home team headed into the locker room with a 29-27 edge.

Lisa Foss only managed five points in that first half, but recovered to lead all scorers with 17 points. For a three minute stretch in the second, Foss tallied eight-straight for the Huskies.