NIU women’s basketball is looking to put an end to its recent six-game losing streak.

The Huskies (6-10, 0-4 MAC) will square up for the first of two meetings this season against Western Michigan (5-12, 2-2 MAC) today.

Although the record hasn’t indicated it, NIU coach Kathi Bennett believes the young team is improving every day.

“The team is really embracing getting better with longer practices,” Bennett said. “I feel like the one thing this team is is hungry. They have to learn to play to win, instead of just playing not to lose.”

The Broncos are coming off two road games, in which they lost both, while NIU is coming off a home loss against Toledo.

While such stiff competition night in and night out is new to many freshmen on the team, the veterans don’t try to discuss too much of their current situation.

“Our defense is always consistent,” said NIU senior Kim Davis. “We just have to make our offense more consistent. Right now, as a team, we don’t need extra pressure. We’re just trying to go with the flow, stay positive and keep working hard.”

If there was a positive to pull out of a-six game losing streak, it’s that all this turmoil can only be a beneficial learning experience for the younger Huskie players.

“I feel like every game I’m taking something from,” said NIU freshman Amanda Corral. “I’m taking mistakes I made in the game and working on it. I think everyone is taking something from each game.”

Coming into this matchup, both teams will have a common opponent in recent games in Toledo, as Western Michigan was able to earn a victory over them a few weeks back.

Although the focus of that doesn’t distract from what NIU aims to accomplish, there is a benefit.

“Toledo plays man to man like we do,” Bennett said. “Western Michigan has three players we have to stop and we can see what did Toledo do against them. I think from a scout standpoint, it really helps.”