The women’s basketball team will head to Toledo for a rematch with the top ranked Rockets’ today.

The Huskies (7-17, 2-9 MAC) will have their hands full against a Toledo (22-2, 10-1 MAC) team that is currently on a 10-game winning streak.

The Rockets are currently third in the MAC in scoring at 66.3 points per game and rank first defensively allowing only 52.4 points per game. They have made scoring difficult this season and have held their opponents to 35.5 percent shooting per game. Their most recent victory came Saturday against Kent State with the Rockets exploding 82-45. Redshirt senior guard Naama Shafir leads the team in scoring with 11.7 points per game. Junior guard Andola Dortch follows close behind with 11.6 points per game.

The last time the Huskies faced Toledo, the game came down to the final possession. Both teams played excellent defense, but the Huskies fell to the Rockets, 42-44. Toledo head coach Tricia Cullop knew the last game would be tough for her team considering the Huskies pride themselves on defense.

“Both teams really value defense and really pride themselves on not letting the other team do what they want,” Cullop said in a news conference after the two teams’ previous matchup.

When asked if her players were surprised with how tough it was to beat the Huskies considering their record, Cullop said, “our players weren’t surprised at all.”

Now on Toledo’s home court, the Huskies are going to have to replicate their last performance defensively against Toledo while getting the offense back on track.

The offense took a step back over the weekend in their matchup against Bowling Green State, something the Huskies can’t afford to do against Toledo. After winning two games on the road with the offense finally clicking again, NIU seemed out of sync Saturday. Head coach Kathi Bennett will try to get her team’s players back on the same page in today’s game.

“I feel were making the same mistakes over and over, it’s more about us, less about the opponent,” Bennett said. “We’ve shown flashes and we’ve had people step up, I think Ashley [Sneed] has done a great job for us.”

Junior guard Sneed will need to continue her hot streak in order for the Huskies to come away with an upset over the Rockets. Sneed has averaged 11.3 points per game in her last three games and believes in NIU’s ability to compete.

“We can play with anybody when we focus and lock in,” Sneed said. “When we really focus in a lot of good things happen.”