The NIU women’s basketball team will begin its regular season with a 7:05 p.m. home match today against Loyola.

“I think we’ll see a great deal of intensity,” coach Carol Hammerle said. “I’m going to do my best to get a good rotation going without losing quality in performance.”

The non-conference game will be the first of two for the Huskies over the weekend. They will travel to Wisconsin for a 1:30 p.m. game on Sunday to face a Badgers team that was upset one year ago by a last-second shot from NIU’s Monique Davis at the Convocation Center.

Loyola finished its preseason with a 1-4 record. The Ramblers finished last year with the same record as NIU, 12-16.

“They were picked third in the Horizon League,” Hammerle said. “It’s going to be a good challenge for us. They’ve got a balanced attack and strong inside players. They’ve got good shooters and good penetrators.”

Three of Loyola’s top five scorers from a year ago have graduated. The Ramblers’ leading scorer, Ciara Henderson, who averaged 13 points a game last season, will return.

NIU will be led by senior forward Jennifer Youngblood, who led the Huskies in points and rebounds last year. Youngblood said the focus will be on NIU rather than the Ramblers.

“Our main focus right now is us,” Youngblood said. “We just want to go out there and work hard.”

Hammerle said the Huskies’ defense will be a key to them winning.

“We’re going to focus on defense, and hopefully that will help us get a few turnovers,” Hammerle said.

Wisconsin will return four starters from a year ago, when the team finished 7-21. One of the four returning starters, junior Stephanie Rich, averaged 11.6 points a game, while 6-foot-7 center Lello Gebisa scored 10 points per game.

“We’re going to have to play well and focus on making the stops,” Hammerle said.