The women’s basketball team faces a road test this weekend as it travels to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on Western Michigan.

The Broncos (5-12, 2-1) have had the Huskies’ number in the past, posting a 23-13 record over NIU. Last season, NIU (5-11, 1-2) split the series with WMU, dropping its last matchup 67-56 in DeKalb.

The road has not been kind to the Huskies this season. NIU is 0-7 in away games. A lone win away from the Convocation Center came Dec. 9 in the Hawkeye Classic, with a 90-82 victory over St. Joseph’s at a neutral site.

“I think we’ve got to go on the road and have confidence,” said NIU head coach Carol Owens. “It’s tough when you have a young team like we do.

“We’ve got to get to that point where we have that confidence and fight through when teams make runs at us, because teams are going to be comfortable at their place. We’ve got to continue to be aggressive at all times for 40 minutes.”

WMU is led by junior guard Tiera DeLaHoussaye. DeLaHoussaye is averaging 11 points and seven assists per game. The guard has already been named MAC West Player of the Week four times this season.

“She’s a quick guard and a very good defensive guard and we have to play her for the drive,” Owens said. “She’s very good driving the ball and not only looking for her shot, but looking for others. We’ve got to contain her and take away that dribble penetration she does so well.”

Owens also mentioned how the Huskies need to work on scoring in transition. They received help inside as freshman center Ebony Ellis posted a career-high 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the win over Central Michigan on Tuesday.

“What we’ve been talking about with her is consistency and freshmen go through a maturation point in time,” Owens said. “She’s been getting double-digit rebounds for a while, and we need her scoring as well. We’ve been talking about her being able to finish under the basket. I think she’s on her way, and I think her goal is to stay consistent.”

Owens is hoping that Ellis and others will feed off the energy they played with in their victory on Tuesday.

“I’m looking forward to getting after it,” said junior forward Aileen Rossouw. “I think we’re ready and prepared especially after the last game, going in with the same kind of energy and intensity.”