It’s hard to find bright spots in a season filled with injuries and tragedy.

Despite a 10-18 overall record, it‘s hard to judge what the Huskies did and didn’t do with so many outside factors affecting the entire season.

“There were some obstacles that we had to overcome,” NIU head coach Carol Owens said. “I was proud how our team overcame the obstacles.”

These hurdles affected both the team and the individual athletes during the season.

The Huskies were picked pre-season to finish second in the MAC West this season, but fell very short of that mark. NIU finished fourth with a 6-8 conference record.

NIU guard Jessie Wilcox was selected to the preseason All-MAC team. However, a broken hand early in the season hampered what could have been an explosive year. Wilcox did not place in the final All-MAC selections.

But there were good times for NIU during its campaign this year. One highlight included a three-game winning streak with a road win over eventual MAC Tournament champion Miami.

Also, the Huskies pulled out an emotional win over Western Michigan in its first game back after nearly two weeks off for the Feb. 14 shootings.

“It was a season of growth and a season of maturity,” Owens said. “I was proud of how they handled things, with the injuries and playing ball without key people for a while.”

Owens knew heading into this season that she would lead a very young team. NIU lost four seniors from the previous season, including WNBA rookie Stephanie Raymond.

“When you lose that much, it’s going to impact your team a bit, but you don’t know how much until you’re in the thick of things,” Owens said.

However, the NIU women’s basketball team is ready to move forward and take the next step.

The first step came during a stretch from January to February. The Huskies were beginning to heat up, posting a 6-3 record in those games, despite the near two-week layoff and eventual canceling of two games.

However, NIU then took one step back, losing three close games in a row – none more than seven points. The Huskies then fell victim to a slow start and fell to Kent State in the opening round of the MAC tournament.

“We’ve grown strength through [everything] and we’ve come together as a team,” Owens said. “I think that’s the most important thing.”

NIU was lead in scoring by senior forward Whitney Lowe, who averaged 11.2 points per game and 15.9 in conference play. Lowe and redshirt junior Tara Michels both will graduate and have played their finals games at NIU.

Lowe finished her last season with second team All-MAC honors.

“Whitney was the leading scorer for us and did some good things for us,” Owens said. “She really came along for us at the end of the season in terms of MAC conference [play].”

Once again, NIU will have to take a step forward to improve its results from this season to next season.

“The key for this team is what they do in the offseason,” Owens said. “They have to be committed — if you want to be good you have to commit to working on your skills and working together.”