It’s something NIU women’s basketball coach Carol Hammerle would rather forget, but she knows her team has learned from it.

The Huskies blew a six-point halftime lead to Ball State Jan. 19 and shot 8.3 percent in the second half of the 62-41 loss.

“We need to stop allowing our opponents to intimidate us,” Hammerle said. “We can’t allow their defense to be in control and let them take us out of our game.”

The Huskies will get their shot at redemption when they host the Cardinals at 2:05 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center.

NIU will have to try and rebound from a similar loss to Bowling Green Wednesday in which it shot 25 percent from the field in the second half.

“We just focus on getting better with each game,” Hammerle said. “We will just continue to work hard in practice and address what needs to be addressed.”

Ball State forward Kate Endress is leading the MAC with an average of 18 points per game. The senior scored 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting in the last meeting with NIU.

“We’ve got to do a better job of containing [Endress] and keep her off of the boards,” Hammerle said.

NIU sophomore guard Stephanie Raymond leads the Huskies with 15.1 points per game, while sophomore forward Kristin Wiener averages 9.5.