NIU women’s basketball coach Carol Hammerle knows not to overlook an opponent, especially after last month’s loss to Akron, which had lost its previous 20 MAC games.

The Huskies (10-15 overall, 5-9 MAC) will take on Central Michigan (5-20, 1-13) at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center. CMU’s lone conference win came last Wednesday in overtime over Akron.

“The MAC right now is an extremely balanced conference,” Hammerle said. “I’m not so much looking back to Akron, but it takes a special team to keep it together during this time of the year. We need to beat Central and focus on the present – not the past or the future.”

NIU will start freshman Stephanie Raymond at point guard, Rachel Sillar at shooting guard and seniors Jennifer Youngblood, Lindsay Secrest and sophomore Joi Scott at forward.

“That unit is just playing so well together right now,” Hammerle said.

When the two teams squared up in Mt. Pleasant on Jan. 14, the Huskies prevailed 74-59 for their first MAC win of the season.

The Chippewas are second to last in the conference in scoring at 57.7 points per game, but are sixth in scoring defense right behind the Huskies, allowing 64.8 ppg.

No player on CMU averages in double digits for points. Casey Manning is tops on the Chippewas at 9.6 ppg.

“Last time we played Central, we ran a full court press, and they turned the ball over rather quickly,” Hammerle said. “We were up 12-0 very quickly, so I think we’ll stick with the same game plan and use our defensive efforts to attack their weaknesses.”