From the opening tip-off to the final second of the game, the NIU women’s basketball team kept its home crowd at ease and coasted to a 81-50 defeat over Western Illinois Thursday night at Chick Evans Field House.

Carol Owens dominated the statistics for the Huskies with a triple-double by racking up 23 points, 11 steals and 10 rebounds on the night. The 6-foot-3 junior made up for her less-than-desireable performance in last weekend’s Old Dominion game and was happy to get back in the groove.

“I was satisfied with our play,” Owens said. “We just came off a loss and we wanted to come back and play real hard. I’m glad we all played well together and we are going into this weekend on a positive note.”

Besides Owens’ fine credentials, which included her NIU record-setting 11 steals and her 5-for-5 shooting from the free-throw line, three other Huskies scored in double figures. Kris Weis followed Owens with 16 points, while Gena Stubbs and Tammy Hinchee finished with 13 points each.

Point guard Denise Dove had 6 points for the evening, but what was more significant was her 10 assists in only 29 minutes of playing time. Also, the 5-foot-7 Weis finished second in the rebounding category with 11—one behind Tracy Mondek’s 12.

NIU came out in the first half and established the style of play that would dictate the rest of the game. The Huskies relentless defense kept the Westerwinds’ scoring low throughout the game. A Weis basket with 12:09 left in the first half gave the Huskies a 10-point lead (16-6) which never seemed to decrease.

As the first half was coming to a close, head coach Jane Albright’s squad had upped the lead to 27 points until WIU’s Lori Schrock hit from 18 feet with 30 seconds left to play, giving NIU a 50-25 lead.

The play in the second half became a little more scrappy as WIU looked for a way to cut the Huskie lead—but to no avail. NIU continued to match the Westerwinds basket for basket. The cushioned lead had some spectators looking to spice things up by singing “jingle bells” in the stands.

The Huskies’ shooting percentage from the field dropped from 53 percent in the first half to 37 percent in the second half, but the Westerwinds were not up to par with their overall 31 percent success rate from the field. The Huskies wound up icing 44 percent of their shots overall, while going 79 percent from the free-throw line.

Noticeably absent from the NIU lineup was Lisa Foss, last year’s Most Valuable Player. Foss will sit out the year as a medical redshirt and await the 1989-90 season. However, Weis came in as Foss’ tag-team partner and responded to the task.

“Kris (Weis) did a really nice job,” Albright said. “She makes a lot of things happen. We’ve said all along she’s a great player, and we think she’s going to respond well to the challenge that’s ahead of her.”

The victory over WIU bumps the Huskies’ record to 1-1 on the season. NIU’s first loss was an 81-69 setback to perennial powerhouse Old Dominion.