The NIU women’s basketball team is hoping it can reverse its holiday misfortunes as the Huskies travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to take on the University of Northern Iowa Panthers at noon today.

The Huskies (2-4) go into the matinee match-up against the Panthers (2-3) having lost two straight games.

While the Huskies have reduced turnovers of late, their two losses last week came as a result of being outworked on the glass. They surrendered 16 and 17 offensive rebounds to Bradley and Wisconsin-Milwaukee over this past weekend.

“We’ve got to do it in practice,” said NIU head coach Carol Owens. “We have really had to overemphasize how we really have to make contact with our opponents and not think that we can just out-jump them.”

Leading the charge on the glass for the Huskies will be sophomore center Ebony Ellis. The Joliet native leads the team in rebounds, averaging 10.7 per game.

“I think sometimes we look at Ebony Ellis, and she’s a great rebounder, and we watch her rebound, but that’s not enough,” Owens said. “Teams are putting two people on her now, so other people have got to step up.”

Ellis also leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.0 points per game and recording a .525 shooting percentage. Ellis has scored double-digits in each of NIU’s six games this season.

“[Ellis] is obviously an integral part of our offense and what we want to do,” Owens said. “With her athleticism and her size, she’s a tough match-up for anybody.”

Helping dish it to Ellis will be redshirt sophomore Marke Freeman and senior Jessie Wilcox, who are first and second on the team in assists.

Matching up for the Panthers will be junior guard Nicole Clausen and freshman guard K.K. Armstrong, who are averaging 15 and 12 points per game, respectively.

Clausen and Armstrong will be going up against an NIU defense that has been suspect of late.

“I think we have the tools to play good defense, but I think teams are getting a lot of easy shots against us,” Owens said. “I think we’ve got to work a little harder and bring the intensity. If we’re going to win games, we’ve got to concentrate on our defense and rebounding.”