It was the Cindy Conner show in the first half. Then it was the E.C. Hill show in the second half with numerous guest appearances sprinkled in as the NIU women’s basketball team opened the 1992-93 season with an 88-72 victory over Slovan Bratislava of Czechosolovakia.

Conner, a senior guard who averaged 18.4 points per game last season, got the Huskies started in the exhibition matchup before a Chick Evans Field House crowd of 1,452 with a three-pointer from the top of the key less than two minutes into the ball game.

She continued to be the main cog in the Huskie offense for the rest of the half, connecting on 6-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the line for 17 points in the half.

The Huskies needed everything they could get out of Conner as they struggled from the floor, shooting a shade under 40 percent in the first half. Despite this, they held a 40-35 halftime lead thanks in part to forwards Dianna Wingis and Tiana Burkholder, who hauled down seven and five rebounds, respectively, as the Huskies outrebounded Bratislava 27-20 in the first half.

After an uplifting halftime ceremony in which the team received its 1992 NCAA Tournament rings, the Huskies went to work in the second half and so did E.C. Hill.

Hill, a junior guard who averaged 14.5 points per game last season, broke the game open with a six-point run of her own four minutes into the second half.

She drove the lane twice in less than thirty seconds and then got a steal on the in-bounds attempt and hit a seven-footer from the left side to give the Huskies a 55-44 lead that Bratislava could not recover from.

One downside to Hill’s run was that it occurred just after an injury timeout for forward Dianna Wingis. She left the game after she was slammed hard to the ground after connecting on a five-foot fall-away jumper.

No foul was called on the play as Wingis was taken for X-rays on both her wrist and her elbow.

Hill led the Huskies with 22 points, 20 of which came in the second half. Conner was right behind with 20 points and Burkholder and Leslie Pottinger each tallied 11.