With cold weather taking over the Midwest, the Huskies get to sleep in their own beds.

For the first time this season, NIU women’s basketball will host back-to-back home games as it welcomes Eastern Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center.

The Huskies (7-9 overall, 2-1 MAC) are coming off a 71-65 overtime victory against Western Michigan. NIU held a lead for most the game but allowed the Broncos to gain ground in the second half, forcing the extra period.

One of the reasons WMU was able to make a resurgence was because of an injury to NIU forward Shari’ Welton. The redshirt senior was under the basket with 15:37 left when she fell to the ground because of contact.

Welton was able to get back up but looked in pain. She played for another minute and a half, but then left the game. The guard spent the rest of the night on the sideline either on the bike or practicing running cuts.

NIU head coach Carol Owens said Welton was hit in the leg, keeping her out of the game.

“She got bumped a little bit in the leg,” Owens said after the game. “I don’t know the extent of the injury.”

The coach will need Welton’s defense as Eastern Michigan (4-11, 0-3) has one of the top scores in the MAC. EMU guard Cassie Schrock is averaging over 15 points a game.

In addition, the Eagles have freshman guard Tavelyn James who is putting up almost 14 points a game.

But even with these two scorers, the Eagles have yet to find success. In the last four games, EMU is 0-4, dropping three straight conference matches.

To produce a winning streak, NIU will need to out-rebound EMU. The Eagles have been out-rebounded 172-129 over the past four games, producing an average deficit of 10.75 boards a game.

The Huskies will need players, like center Ebony Ellis and forward Mauvolyene Adams, to dominate the glass.

Ellis grabbed nine rebounds in only 24 minutes against WMU. The center was limited in playing time because of foul trouble as she picked up her second foul with 15:42 remaining in the first half.

“We got a balanced attack inside and outside, and rebounding has to be the key in that,” Owens said. “We have to understand how critical it is.”