NIU coach Carol Hammerle knows it’s not easy to beat a team twice in one season, especially when that team has a record of 13-3.

The NIU women’s basketball team will face that challenge when they host Eastern Michigan at 7:05 p.m. today at the Convocation Center.

The Huskies (6-10 overall, 3-2 MAC) beat EMU 55-53 on Jan. 8 in Ypsilanti, Mich. and hope to get similar results this time around.

“We are just going to play our game and try to play like we did the last game,” Hammerle said. “I’m just glad we have them at home this time.”

The Eagles (3-2 MAC) are coming off of a victory over Ohio and lead the MAC in scoring defense and rebounding.

“We held their scoring down last game and that was huge,” Hammerle said. “They lead the conference in rebounding margin, but we did a really good job on the boards against them.”

NIU will need to contain the Eagles’ two leading scorers: guard Ryan Colem(16.1 ppg) and forward Nikki Knapp (12.4 ppg).

“They have some quality players over there,” said Hammerle, of Coleman and Knapp. “But, they also have a great supporting cast.”

Sophomore guard Stephanie Raymond is leading the Huskies’ attack with a 15.6 points per game average to go along with 6.4 rebounds per game.