NIU women’s basketball‘s season has not gone the way it hoped. More than halfway complete, the Huskies stand at 7-11, with a 1-4 conference record.

Yet the team has one element that has garnered attention. From behind the arc, the Huskies are shooting a 40.4 percent on the season, good enough to rank nationally.

The Huskies first garnered attention on the rankings in three-point field goal percentage on Dec. 19 after qualifying the minimum of four three-pointers made per game. Ranked 13th out of 271 teams, with a 41.2 percent success rate, the trey has been more accurate than its two-point counterpart on seven accounts this season for the Huskies.

“Percentage has to do with taking good shots,” NIU head coach Kathi Bennett said. “That leads to shooting a high percentage. That’s really where that comes in.”

Most recently, the Huskies climbed two spots in national rankings, mostly off the hand of guard Courtney Shelton. On Saturday, the junior put down six of eight from behind the arc, helping boost the team’s percentage to 41.7.

Before the game, the team ranked fourth in the nation with a 40.6 percent performance. Now the Huskies fall behind only Penn State and Drexel Universities for the top slot.

“It’s not something we talk about or worry about,” Bennett said. “We talk about taking good shots.”

Individually, guard Marke Freeman found her stroke, contributing heftily to the Huskies’ success. Hitting 47.2 percent of shots taken, including two perfect games, the senior ranks fourth in the nation.

“Marke’s leading that because she’s shooting the ball and Courtney from three-point range,” Bennett said. “They’ve had some really good shooting nights.”

The Huskies performance on Wednesday faltered from downtown, going 2-11 for an 18.2 percent average. When new rankings come out, the Huskies will see if they maintained their third place ranking.