DeKALB — The women’s golf team finished sixth out of 13 teams in the Little Rock-Arkansas State Invitational on Monday and Tuesday in Mumelle, Arkansas.

The Huskies (297-311-318 — 926) were never able to get over the hump and into the top five as they fell 10 strokes shy of the fifth-place finisher, the Arkansas State University Red Wolves. Even though the team finished in the top half of the leaderboard and had a top-five individual finisher with senior Lena Guatier, Head Coach Kim Kester said the team took a step backward from the way they have been playing lately.

“[This was a] disappointing tournament after we have been playing really well the past few weeks,” Kester said. “[We had] a lot of mistakes in our short game which we will work on in the next week to prepare for [the next tournament].”

NIU was led by Gautier (72-76-75 — 223), who notched a fourth-place finish and was tied for the low round of the day Monday with a 72 in round one.

“Happy to see [Gautier] put together three consistent rounds,” Kester said. “During the offseason, all the ladies worked on their wedges. Lena got better from 100 yards and in; that has helped give her more chances.”

With only one tournament remaining before the start of postseason play, the Huskies are looking to add some final tune-ups to their game to give themselves a chance to qualify for the May 26-31 NCAA Division I National Championships at their home course of Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.

Kester said the team needs to improve on the green and in chip situations to give themselves a chance to produce at the highest level.

“We need to lower our putts and give ourselves more birdie chances,” Kester said. “We had too many little mistakes [this week] putting in this event and that led to bogies or larger numbers. We know [the team] will work hard and be ready for [the rest of the season].”

The team will compete in its final regular season event at the Kansas City Shootout April 10 in Kansas City, Missouri.