Women’s basketball’s (6-10, 2-4 MAC) five upcoming games will be as season-defining as they could be season-crushing.

Starting Wednesday, the Huskies will play four of their next five games at home after finishing up a stretch of four of five games on the road.

The Huskies went 1-4 in their last five games with their only win coming in their lone home game, a 66-49 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes Jan 17. And their road woes weren’t confined to this last stretch of games; the road has been a cold, lonely place for the Huskies, who are 2-9 in cities not named DeKalb.

At the Convocation Center, the Huskies average 58.8 points per game. When they hit the road they seem to forget to pack their offense, as their scoring output drops to 50.2 points per game. Take out their two neutral-site games and their points-per-game average slides down to 47.9 in nine true road games.

The defense similarly sputters when the Huskies aren’t playing in front of their home crowd. NIU gives up 52 points per home game but 56.1 points per road game. Slightly more than four points per game may not seem like a huge deal, but when combined with the offensive drop-off that’s how 2-9 records away from home come to be.

Returning the favor

Now, the Huskies have a chance to shake off the rust and begin to find their groove as they play four of their next five games at home.

The stretch opens with the Huskies hosting the Bowling Green Falcons 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Convocation Center. Bowling Green will be the first team NIU plays for a second time this season. The Falcons beat the Huskies, 65-59, Jan. 14 in Bowling Green, Ohio, in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated. The Huskies trailed by 20 points with 5:15 to play before they cut the deficit late to make the score look more respectable.

But, as head coach Kathi Bennett has said throughout the season, any MAC team can beat any other MAC team on any given day. That’s what the Huskies proved three days after their loss to the Falcons, a loss in which Bennett said “Bowling Green kicked our butt.” NIU returned home fresh off the loss and beat Kent State, which had beaten Bowling Green four days before the Falcons beat the Huskies.

Knocking on the door

The Huskies have had a safe haven at home, going 4-1, but they have some top-tier competition coming to their house. They need to find a way to come out of this next five-game stretch with a winning record as they’re sitting alone in the MAC West cellar with a 2-4 conference mark.

In addition to the home game against Bowling Green, the Huskies have games against Ball State (on the road) and Western Michigan (at home), which are tied for the MAC West lead at 5-2. They also host a 5-2 Akron team and get a 0-7 Miami (Ohio) squad at home.

The regular season doesn’t end until March 7, but the Huskies need to get their act together sooner rather than later. They need to find consistency in their play no matter where it is they’re playing if they hope to avoid a first-round MAC Tournament road game that’s sure to spell death. That’s easier said than done.