Since their first meeting, the NIU and Toledo women’s basketball teams have gone two completely different directions.

The Huskies beat the Rockets 63-60 on Jan. 11 to put their conference record at 2-0, but have gone 1-8 since.

Toledo, on the other hand, has gone 5-3 since the loss and has pulled into a tie for third place in the MAC West.

The Huskies will try to repeat their performance against Toledo when they square off at 7:05 p.m. today at the Convocation Center.

“The last time we played them we beat them with defense,” NIU coach Carol Hammerle said. “We contested all of their shots and that made it difficult for them.”

Seven times in MAC play the Huskies (6-16 overall, 3-8 MAC) have led at the half only to squander their lead in the end.

The Huskies have dropped six in a row, but Hammerle remains optimistic about her team.

“The important thing is for the entire team and staff to stay positive,” said the seventh-year coach. “We get better with each game and we realize we can play with any team -we just need to finish.”

Sophomores Stephanie Raymond and Kristin Wiener both scored career highs of 24 points Saturday against Miami-Ohio, but the bench contributed just four points.

Toledo (11-11, 7-4) is led by Danielle Bishop with a 13.9 points per game average, and Karin Hoogendam with 13 points.

“We need to learn from what happened against Miami,” Hammerle said. “Toledo is going to come in thinking about revenge, but we need to worry about ourselves and not who we are playing.”

The Huskies have taken three of the last four against Toledo, but are just 2-8 at home this season.