Last season, plagued by injuries and inconsistency, the NIU women’s basketball team struggled to a 6-22 record, and lost nine of its first 11 games this winter.

Wednesday night’s 73-58 bashing of Bowling Green showed that while NIU may be rebuilding, the young Huskies are a force to be reckoned with in the Mid-American Conference.

NIU, which plays mostly freshmen and sophomores, has now won six of their last eight games and improved their MAC West record to 4-2.

Playing as a team soaring with confidence and fueled by a smothering defensive effort, NIU (8-11 overall) raced out to a 10-2 lead. The Huskies held the Falcons (8-9, 4-2) to just 7-of-26 shooting (27-percent) and just 17 points in the first half.

BGU closed the lead to 4 points on several occasions in the second half, but each time it did, the Huskies responded. Bowling Green center Pam Brown hit a jumper to draw the Falcons to within 56-52 with 4:27 remaining, but the Huskies showed a newfound maturity and closed out the game with a 17-6 run.

“That says a lot about this team being so young,” NIU coach Carol Hammerle said. “We kept our poise and we’re still able to execute and be able to maintain that lead.”

Led by Kristan Knake’s 21 points and Michelle Johnson’s 17 points and 11 rebounds, NIU received in all around effort and executed at both ends of the court. The Huskies shot 56 percent in the second half, pumping in 46 points, and outrebounded the shorthanded Falcons 37-29.

Bowling Green played without its leading scorer, junior Francine Miller who suffered a deep thigh bruise. The Huskies, who trailed only once in the contest, believe communication and hard work during practice has paved the way for the team’s turnaround.

“Every practice we learn more and more about each other,” Knake said. “I think that really carries over in the game like today. I think we played our best team defense and offense than we have all year and I think it’s only going to keep getting better as long as we keep working at it and keep our focus.”

Unselfish play contributed to the Huskie cause, dishing out 20 assists, including 7 from Knake and four each from Johnson and point guard Monique Davis.

“I don’t think that we’ve had 20 assists the entire season, so I think that’s tremendous,” Hammerle said.

Sophomore Kim Boeding returned to the Huskie starting lineup, and sparked the Huskies with her play after struggling from the field in recent games. The 6-foot forward scored 12 points and grabbed 3 rebounds, before receiving a standing ovation after fouling out late in the second half. Freshman forward Jennifer Youngblood had another solid effort posting a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“As a team I really thought we really worked well together,” Hammerle said. “I think the key in this is the system. That defensively they’re working hard, and offensively. Really all of them are being very unselfish.”

After going on a 4-game winning streak during winter break, the Huskies ran into a slump getting routed by conference foes Ball State and Toledo, but have since solidified their defensive efforts.

“We had a slump with Ball State and Toledo,” Johnson said. “We were in the twilight zone. But we’ve found it again and we’re keeping it that way.”