Women’s basketball continued its Preseason NIT Tournament action this weekend as it defeated both Davidson College and Morehead State University, earning its first two wins of the season.

Strong play from sophomore guard Amanda Corral and sophomore forward Natecia Augusta helped the Huskies (2-1) edge by the Davidson Wildcats, 64-61, Saturday.

Corral had 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 36 minutes of play while Augusta had a career-high 16 points, along with three rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes of play.

The Huskies then played against the Morehead State Eagles (1-2) in their final game of the tournament on Sunday.

The Huskies got off to a great start with three straight 3-point shots. Two came from senior guard/forward Satavia Taylor, and one came from Corral, giving NIU a 13-3 lead going into the first media timeout.

Taylor ended the game with 18 points, going six for six from behind the arc, and said NIU did well dealing with Morehead State’s defensive play.

“We broke down the pressure and got the ball up the court,” Taylor said. “We got good shots because we rotated the ball. They tried to trap a lot and it left the opposite side open. So, all we had to do was play team ball and it was easy to pass.”

NIU had a total of 19 assists, which gave them the edge in the rest of the game, maintaining at least a 20-point lead throughout the second half. NIU ultimately defeated the Eagles 76-46.

The Huskies did well on the glass, out-rebounding Morehead State 36-24. Red shirt sophomore forward Jada Buggs had a good night with 11 points and eight rebounds. She said she thought the NIU bigs were strong on the glass.

“I thought we did really well,” Buggs said. “We out-rebounded them by a lot in the beginning of the game. Toward the end we kind of slacked off a bit, but I thought we did really well.”

Overall, coach Kathi Bennett thought her team played well this weekend.

“It was a lot of fun,” Bennett said. “We really played well together. Just the energy and the focus this whole trip has been there. It was great team win. Everybody contributed, and we played some good basketball this weekend.”