The road isn’t paved with gold for the NIU women’s basketball team. At least not yet.

The Huskies did many things well in their 70-59 exhibition win over the Chicago Challengers on Nov. 8, but coach Carol Hammerle knows there’s room for improvement.

NIU hosts Gee’s Clippers 2:05 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center in its final exhibition before the regular season.

“They’re a talented group of players,” Hammerle said of the Clippers.

Freshman Joi Scott won’t play after breaking team policy.

The Huskies turned the ball over 19 times against the Challengers.

“The first thing that comes to mind is the turnovers,” Hammerle said. “We had several unforced errors and we need to take care of the ball a whole lot better.”

Another aspect Hammerle hopes her Huskies can improve is their rebounding.

Six-foot-3 Elizabeth Strobel and 6-foot-1 Jamie Wilson are both out for the season.

“We need to do a better job of controlling the O-boards,” Hammerle said. “Especially with our lack of size, most teams are going to be bigger than us.”

After playing a lackluster first half against the Challengers, the Huskies played lights out in the second half, shooting 63 percent from the floor.

“I was pleased with the second half,” Hammerle said. “We did a good job going inside and getting to the free-throw line.”

The Huskies pushed the ball often in their win over the Challengers, and Hammerle is optimistic her team will do it again on Saturday.

“I’m hoping we can continue that,” Hammerle said. “But we’re not going to push the ball at the expense of our defense. I’ve been telling the team, ‘Let’s make the defense part of our offense and score 70, 75 points a game.’”