The NIU women’s basketball team knows that every game until the end of the season is critical. Coach Carol Hammerle believes that Saturday’s game against Kent State is a must-win.

The Huskies (7-9 overall, 2-3 MAC) will host the Golden Flashes (9-6, 2-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center.

“Their strength is their post players,” Hammerle said. “We’re going to try and limit the touches of Andrea Csaszar and the rest of their post players. We need to try and stop them from blocking and limit their second-chance opportunities.”

Kent State has two players in the top 10 in the MAC in scoring in Lindsay Shearer and Csaszar, who average 13.9 and 13.7 ppg, respectively.

NIU forward Jennifer Youngblood, who is third in the MAC in rebounding at 9.9 rebounds per game, said the Huskies need to improve on boxing out teams.

“Before every game, I bring it up or coaches bring it up how important the little things are like boxing out and rebounding,” Youngblood said. “We need to improve on that for this game.”

Youngblood said that working on reading and coming off screens also is something the Huskies need to improve on.

KSU, who is tied for second in the MAC East behind Miami (Ohio), lost to Western Michigan on Wednesday. The Huskies fell to Miami on Wednesday.

NIU’s starting lineup has been subject to change lately, and Hammerle said it is up in the air for Saturday’s game as well. She said either Kristin Wiener or Joi Scott will start and be responsible for defending the 6-foot-6 Csaszar.