Life just doesn’t get any easier for the women’s basketball team.

After dropping a tough road loss at Kent Sate last week and enduring double overtime to outlast Ohio 102-92 on Saturday, the Huskies, tonight, welcome possibly the top squad in the Mid-American Conference: Toledo.

“In my mind, they’re the best team in the conference,” NIU coach Carol Hammerle said of Toledo, which carries a sizzling 10-1 record in the MAC and 17-5 overall mark into tonight’s contest. “They’ve really got a balanced attack. I think what’s going to be key tomorrow is going to be how we defend the post players and being able to control the boards — not give them second-chance opportunities.”

NIU’s post players have stepped up their game. Freshman forward Jennifer Youngblood shot 68 percent during the Huskies’ (11-13 overall, 7-4 MAC) two contests last week and averaged 18 points and 7 rebounds a game. She tallied 24 points and 10 boards during the Huskies’ win over Ohio. Senior center Mickey Johnson poured in a season-high 28 points in that contest. But the duo will be challenged by Toledo’s 6-foot scoring machine Kahli Carter, who pumps in 16.9 points per game.

Hammerle said her team will need to be wary of the Rockets’ perimeter players. NIU guards Kristan Knake, Lindsay Secrest and Monique Davis will need to stiffen the defense on Toledo guard Courtney Risinger, who ranks second on the team in scoring at 12.9 points a contest.

Hammerle hopes her squad will continue to execute offensively as it did in the two overtime sessions, Saturday, when the Huskies shot 71 percent. Johnson, Youngblood, Knake, Secrest and sophomore forward Kim Boeding all reached double digits.

“I think we did a nice job as far as distributing the ball,” Hammerle said. “Defensively, I felt the longer we played, the better we got. When we got within 4 points, the whole execution changed because we knew we could win the game.”