Coming off of a heartbreaking overtime loss to Bowling Green on Saturday, NIU women’s basketball is on the rebound, hoping to get back on track.

The Huskies (10-10 overall, 5-2 MAC) will look to continue their winning ways as they face the Akron Zips (8-12, 3-4) Wednesday night at the Convocation Center. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

NIU shouldn’t have a problem rebounding, however, as the Huskies own the second-best rebounding margin in the MAC at +5.1. It’s going to be that combination of rebounding and team defense that will be key for the Huskies on Wednesday, as it has been throughout the season.

“We’re always trying to get teams to shoot a low percentage; that’s one of our goals,” said NIU head coach Carol Owens. “Ever since we got into conference [play] we’ve started settling in and concentrating on our defense. We’ve been rebounding well, not giving teams other opportunities and not giving up offensive rebounds.”

Offensive boards have been a huge factor for the Huskies all season long, both on offense and defense. The Huskies have pulled down 72 more offensive boards than their opponents this season.

A large part of that production on the offensive glass comes from sophomore Ebony Ellis, who is pulling down 9.4 rebounds a game this season and is coming off of a double-double performance against Bowling Green. Perhaps the hottest player in the conference coming into this game is NIU senior Jessie Wilcox, who has scored 17.2 points a game over the Huskies’ last five contests. NIU is 4-1 in those games.

The Zips are not without weapons though. The Zips’ leading scorer at 18.1 points a game, sophomore Kara Murphy, is coming off of a 22-point performance against Toledo, and is the only Zip with a double-digit scoring average this season. Akron freshman Kyle Baumgartner has also scored in double digits in each of Akron’s last three games.

“They’re very versatile. We have to worry about Murphy, but their inside game is also very important,” Owens said. “I think their post play, their inside game we’ve got to be conscious of.”

While this game might seem bigger than most for the Huskies as they try to get back on track, Owens has been adamant all season long about the importance of each game. With the top three teams in the MAC West so close in the standings, every game is a must-win.

“Akron is a big game,” Owens said. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves – we’ve got to move on. We’ve got to fight hard. You’re going to face adversity, you’ve got to fight and learn from it.”