Huskies invite Dayton to town for Saturday match

By Marc Marin

So far, so good for the NIU women’s basketball team.

Well, it hasn’t all been good, but judging by the Huskies’ 4-2 record thus far, they’re getting it right two out of every three times.

Next up for the Huskies is the University of Dayton (1-5) Saturday at 2:05 p.m. at Chick Evans Field House.

The Huskies go into the contest as owners of a three-game winning streak, with their latest victory coming at home Wednesday 71-63 against Southeast Missouri State.

Freshman forward Jamie Wilson had what could turn out to be a breakout game against SMS, scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Against the Otahkians, NIU built a 19-point second-half lead before allowing SMS to draw within five points with a minute to go.

The Huskies say the big leads they open up need to stay big.

“It’s disappointing to be up on a team by 19 points and let them get back in the game,” said junior guard Kristan Knake, who scored a team-high 15 points against SMS. “It bothers me, and I hope it bothers my teammates. As long as we keep playing this defense, because that’s where it all starts, as long as we get the defense going we’ll be fine.”

Sophomore forward Jennifer Youngblood continues to be the Huskies’ leading scorer, averaging 13.7 points per game. The Flyers are led by junior guard Stefanie Miller’s 13.8 points per game.

Despite Dayton’s lackluster record, coach Carol Hammerle doesn’t want her team looking forward to the Dec. 15 contest against 30th-ranked Arizona State.

“I think we have to take it one game at a time,” Hammerle said. “Dayton’s a good team, but there’s no doubt in my mind that if we come out Saturday and play our game, we’ll win the game.”

A three-game winning streak certainly can’t hurt a team’s confidence level, but to the Huskies’ credit, they are not ignoring the weaknesses they’ve shown this season.

Among those weaknesses is an unfortunate ability to give the opposing team free possessions. The Huskies are averaging 22.7 turnovers a game.

“Confidence-wise, yeah, we have confidence, but our confidence could be higher,” Knake said. “Maybe not our confidence, but the way we’re playing could be better.”

“If we work hard in practice and keep up the intensity, we’ll be fine,” Wilson said.