DeKALB | With the just two games remaining in the season and seeding for the MAC tournament still wide open, the NIU women’s basketball team heads to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan Sunday at 11 a.m.

The Huskies (17-9 overall, 8-6 MAC) currently stand as the third seed, but could move up to second and clinch a bye in the tournament if they can beat Eastern Michigan, which has a 9-5 record in conference play.

Western Michigan (12-16, 5-9) currently holds the fourth seed, and from here on out can only drop in the rankings, as it cannot pass the Huskies.

NIU will face a tough task in meeting WMU in Kalamazoo, where the Broncos are 10-3 this season.

“This time of year, everyone knows the games are important,” NIU head coach Carol Owens said. “I don’t need to beat it into their heads. We don’t want to feel like there’s pressure, because we need to do what we’ve been doing.”

NIU won by six the last time the two squads met, using a team effort to outlast WMU senior guard Carrie Moore, who scored 23 points and had 18 rebounds.

Moore is currently leading the MAC in scoring, torching opponents for 25 points a night. Much of the damage she inflicts on her opposition comes at the foul line, where she is averaging just under nine attempts per game.

“We want to contain Moore,” Owens said. “She is a dynamic scorer that can work inside and outside.”

The Broncos boast the third-best rebounder in the MAC in forward Lindsey Brown. The 6-foot-3 senior averages 8.5 boards per game.

As if that wasn’t enough, NIU will also have to contain speedy sophomore guard Tiera DeLaHoussaye, who leads the MAC in steals at an average eclipsing three per game. She is also second in the conference in assists, dishing out just over six dimes a game.

“She’s a quick player that really runs the court well,” Owens said.

WMU will have to stop NIU guard Stephanie Raymond, who is coming off a 30-point game against Toledo Wednesday.