DeKALB | Women’s golf kept the momentum going with a top-10 finish at the Cardinal Classic Tuesday after a runner-up finish at the Redbird Invitational Sept. 5.

The Huskies finished sixth overall with total round scores of 303-297-304. NIU hovered around the top five for most of the tournament but was unable to get over the hump in the final round.

“Today was not a great day for us,” said Head Coach Kim Kester after the final round Tuesday. “We didn’t have many birdies and had poor putting.”

The Huskies were led by sophomores Kelly Anderson (76-77-72) and Brielle Ward (75-70-75), who both posted top-20 individual finishes.

“It’s great to see them so steady at the start of the year, and we’re going to continue to keep pushing them,” Kester said. “They’re both talented and the sky is the limit for them.”

Ward led the team with a ninth-place individual finish, making this her second top-10 finish in two events this season.

“I feel like my mental game has improved a lot,” Ward said. “I’ve stayed focused on what I’m doing and [I am] just taking it one shot at a time.”

The Huskies practiced Wednesday before getting back on the road today to continue their season this weekend at the Mary Fossum Invitational.

“It was a good tournament overall, and we saw a lot of good things,” Kester said. “We’re working on some stuff [Wednesday] and doing some fine tuning before we’re back on the road.”

The tournament will be held Saturday and Sunday at Forest Acres West Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan.

The coaching staff noted that keeping the ball in play off the tee is critical for success in this tournament.

“It is a little bit tighter [of a] course than we’ve seen in the previous two tournaments,” Kester said. “If we can keep the ball in play and have few putts, we’ll be all right.”

The roster for this weekend will remain the same with Ward and Anderson along with, senior Lena Gautier, junior Andréa Agniel and freshman Isabella Samudio.

After the Invitational this weekend, the women’s golf team will participate in the Johnie Imes Invitational Oct. 3 in Columbia, Missouri.