After last week, NIU coach Donna Martin didn’t know if there was even a field in Iowa to play on.

Iowa City was hit by a tornado Thursday, but Martin was informed the field was unscathed and NIU’s game against Iowa will take place at 5 p.m. today as planned.

This is the second time these two teams have met this season. NIU (15-18 overall, 3-7 MAC) tangled up with Iowa (28-16 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) earlier in the season at the Coach B. Classic in Carbondale.

Sophomore pitcher Taryn Hagemann hurled a complete game, in which she allowed two runs against the Big Ten foe.

Despite her efforts, Hagemann didn’t earn a win, as the Huskie offense was kept to two hits and zero runs.

Coach Martin believes the previous meeting only made her team desperately want a rematch.

“I think [the first game] gives us some confidence that we can go there and be successful and pull out a victory,” Martin said. “We were able to prove to them and ourselves that we can be competitive.”

But can a team be truly competitive in a non-conference game?

A winning non-conference record may be nice on paper, but it doesn’t affect the Huskies’ MAC tournament goals, as the tournament relies on conference wins and losses.

Martin sees through the illusion of what looks good on paper.

That’s because non-conference games provide the team with momentum, consistency and competition that the Huskies wouldn’t have otherwise.

“Because of the amount of games in conference and travel involved we try to keep conference games on the weekend,” the 12th-year coach said. “So without these games we would go with nothing in the week to keep our level of competition up.”

Non-conference games also give Martin flexibility to try new strategies, players and plays that she wouldn’t necessarily try in conference games.

For example, in the last non-conference game against Loyola, freshman Bailey Ouellette was moved to leadoff spot in the roster. The game also gave freshman infielder Dani Thompson a chance to start and gain experience.

“We take the field every day, and our goal is to win — no matter who’s on the field,” Martin said. “But it is an opportunity for us to work out a few kinks, try some new things and add new players in the lineup.”

With that in mind, the Huskies will try to work on some kinks to find the consistency that they are still missing this season.

Martin points out that softball is a game of consistency and lack there of.

Things such as an umpire’s strike zones, weather, field conditions and more make each game different from the last.

Despite the circumstances, finding consistency is still something the Huskies are searching for.

“That’s the $64,000 question,” Martin said. “We need to take control of what we can, and adjust and adapt to those other things.”