Two weeks ago, the NIU women’s basketball team was coming off two consecutive double-digit losses.

The Huskies, however, recovered by sweeping their recent three-game homestand.

Coming into the homestand, NIU sat at 2-2 in the Mid-American Conference and 6-11 overall. The three games provided a chance to climb up the standings in the MAC. The Huskies did their job by playing tough defense and not allowing any of the three teams to reach 60 points.

NIU delivered stellar play from the usual suspects: Mickey Johnson, Jennifer Youngblood and Kristan Knake.

“I think the main thing about winning these three games was that we had a goal set that when the conference started we weren’t going to lose at home,” said Knake. “And after our two losses on the road, we needed to pick it up, not only to get back into the MAC, but to get confidence in ourselves. And I think these three games played at home on our floor with our own fans, it really, really helped.”

They’re On Fire! The Huskies shot a season-best 63 percent on Saturday against Central Michigan. That percentage exceeded the effort on opening night against Illinois State when NIU shot 61 percent from the floor.

The team finished 30 of 548, with Youngblood at 7 of 8. Kanke added a 6 of 10 evening and Johnson was 6 of 8.

Winning Ugly: Even though the Huskies came away with a 72-55 victory Saturday, in their eyes they didn’t play as well as they should have. NIU committed 24 turnovers, and everyone except Youngblood had at least one.

“I thought the game ended up being a little more difficult than it should have been for us,” said coach Carol Hammerle. “Initially, it was almost too easy for us to score.

Dishing it out: Sophomore guard Kristan Knake compiled 19 assists in the past two games, including 12 against Central Michigan.

Knake was two assists away from the Huskie record of 14 by Gena Stubbs against Minnesota on Dec. 17, 1988.