Fifth-year head coach Kathi Bennett said women’s basketball’s first-half performance Thursday was the worst the Huskies have played in her tenure.

The Huskies (1-2) dropped their second game in a row, losing 65-50 to the Valparaiso Crusaders (2-1) at the Convocation Center.

The Huskies shot 12.5 percent (4-32) from the field in the first half. They made only two field goals in the final 15:43 of the opening stanza.

“Until we prove we can shoot the ball consistently from the perimeter, that’s exactly what we’re going to see: We’re going to see zones, and we’re going to see man that’s packed in,” Bennett said. “And right now we don’t have our consistent shooters. I think it’s something we can work on and be a little bit more patient so they have more rhythm shots [and] the ball swings.”

After the Huskies pulled within three points, 8-5, 5:10 into the game, they failed to score for 7:58 as the Crusaders went on a 15-0 run to go up 23-5. Freshman forward Kelly Smith drained a 3-pointer with 3:49 left in the first half to end a span of 11:55 without a made field goal.

The Huskies faced a 40-13 deficit at halftime, but Valparaiso head coach Tracey Dorow said she knew the game was far from over.

“The first thing we said in the locker room was they’re a fighting team, they’re going to come back [and] they’re going to give it their best effort,” Dorow said. “My comment was [let’s] not give them a glimmer of hope. Clearly, that didn’t work … .”

The Huskies came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, shooting 46.9 percent (15-32) from the field. They forced 13 second-half turnovers and only turned the ball over once, finishing with a 20-5 edge in the turnover department.

“I think all the energy on the offensive end comes from defense,” said sophomore guard Ally Lehman. “We came out flat [in the] first half, plain and simple. I think when we really got going on the offensive end was when we were getting stops, we were getting steals, we were getting boards and we were pushing the ball. And I think with the energy we were able to flip the switch.”

The Huskies had dug themselves into a 27-point hole at the half and only got as close as 11 points, 61-50, with 1:10 to play, in the final frame, losing 65-50.

Lehman finished with a game-high 22 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Smith finished with 10 points, scoring in double figures in each of her first three collegiate games.

The Huskies return to action noon Wednesday in Charleston against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.

“If we go up against Eastern Illinois and learn from what happened and it changes, then it was worth it,” Bennett said.