Talk about intensity drop.

The NIU women’s basketball team squares off with the Crusaders of Valparaiso tonight (7 p.m.) at Chick Evans Field House hoping to extend its unbeaten string in the North Star Conference to 10 games.

Yet, there is a big difference between this game and the last NSC game when the Huskies (20-4, 9-0) battled and beat the DePaul Blue Demons, 92-72.

Odds are, 6,118 people aren’t going to fill the fieldhouse to capacity like they did for the Blue Demon game. Odds are, the 8-13 Crusaders aren’t going to pose as big of a threat as the 14-8 DePaul team did. Odds are, the Huskies aren’t going to let the Valparaiso team get as close as they did the last time the two teams met at Valpo and odds are…not in Valpariso’s favor.

In that last meeting, Valparaiso put up a fight. Led by guard Debbie Bolen who tallied 27 points, the Crusaders trailed by as many as 22 points, but cut that lead in half twice before NIU recorded a 110-94 win. All five Huskie starters scored in double figures with Carol Owens leading the way with 30 points. NIU coach Jane Albright expressed concern about the teams defense on that evening and expects a better showing tonight.

“Valparaiso was one of our worst defensive games,” Albright said. “I think we are playing with a lot of confidence right now and I really expect a great game.”

The Crusaders have been playing better as of late. They are 4-1 in their last five outings with the only loss coming to DePaul (102-65). The four-game winning streak was the first for Valparaiso since joining the NSC in 1987-88. Its success came from Bolen and Lynda Kukla, who is ranked No. 11 in NCAA three-point field goals per game (2.6), scoring on 31 percent of her long-range bombs.

Speaking of rankings, the Huskies moved up a notch in the latest AP Poll. NIU steps in at No. 22 this week after the big win over DePaul and Albright is looking for more.

“I was real pleased with our defense against DePaul,” Albright said. “Now we have to keep winning every single game and win them in a dominating way.”

Coming in as underdogs, the same type of game plan is expected from the Crusaders as the last time. Valparaiso likes to run which explains the high scoring affairs between the two schools. In the last three meetings, NIU has scored 108, 103 and 110 points.

“We’re going to get a lot of shots,” Albright said. “Our guards are quicker and our post is taller. Our best games are in front of us.”

Whatever the fan count might be tonight, the game is Fan Appreciation Night.

“We will play for the fans that our here,” Albright said. “I’ll be real surprised if we don’t get several thousand.”