After coming off a 4-3 loss to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, the Huskies are eager to get back to their winning ways after having the past weekend off. Men’s tennis will be at home this week in a double header against University of Wisconsin-Green...
After being away for five straight matches, the women’s tennis teams will be returning home this weekend with the Chicago State Cougars (3-8) coming into town. The Huskies are coming off a fantastic 3-0 weekend with victories coming against Indiana...
Track and field finishes the indoor portion of its season this weekend when it competes in the MAC indoor championships Friday and Saturday at Eastern Michigan University. Last weekend, the Huskies got a taste of what the MAC championships could be like...
The Huskies were handed a tough road loss, 42-70, against the MAC-leading Toledo Rockets Wednesday.
The Huskies (7-18, 2-10 MAC) weren’t able to get around the Rockets’ defense, which kept pressure on NIU’s offense throughout the game. NIU went into the locker room trailing 19-29 at halftime and was outscored 41-23 in the second half. The Rockets’ defense held NIU to an 18.2 field goal percentage in the second half, only allowing the Huskies to make four shots on 22 attempts.
“Toledo is one of the better defensive teams that we have seen,” said NIU head coach Kathi Bennett. “They forced us into a lot of turnovers throughout the game.”
NIU totaled 23 turnovers, leading to 29 points for the Rockets. Despite shooting 35.7 percent in the first half, the Rockets managed to convert on 60.9 percent of their shots in the second half. Led by redshirt senior guard Naama Shafir’s 25 points, the Rockets managed to shoot 47.1 percent for the game against the Huskies’ third-ranked defense.
Sophomore forward Natecia Augusta discussed Toledo’s defensive approach on Wednesday.
“They put a lot of pressure on our guards and were denying us inside, so the middle was all clogged up,” Augusta said. “It was hard to make plays with [Toledo] flying around.”
Augusta led the Huskies in scoring with 12 points on 2-4 shooting. Augusta shot a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line and felt the Huskies were able to work the ball inside toward the end of the game.
“At the end we got the floor spread out more and I just settled in,” Augusta said. “We just struggle with starting slow. We’ve got to come in more prepared for that. It’s all mental with us.”
The Huskies’ most recent wins have come with some form of production inside. Despite the point differential late in the game, Bennett was happy to see the team get the offense going in the paint.
“We established low-post play late in the game,” Bennett said. “I thought that it was one bright spot of the game.”
The Huskies will play this Saturday on the road against Ball State (11-13, 8-3 MAC). The Cardinals are ranked third in the MAC West division and beat the Huskies 51-57 in their previous matchup despite senior forwards Satavia Taylor’s career-high 24-point game. The Huskies will need to take care of the ball against the Cardinals, who are currently ranked second in the MAC in turnover margin at +3.00.
The women’s gymnastics team will face its toughest test yet as the Kent State Golden Flashes come into DeKalb on a four-meet winning streak. The Flashes (4-2, 2-0 MAC) have scored under a 194 only once this season, and in their last meet eclipsed the...
The wrestling team closes out the regular season with a pair of dual meet contests on the road against Gardner-Webb and Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday. The Huskies (8-8, 1-4 MAC) are coming off their first dual meet victory since...
The women’s basketball team will head to Toledo for a rematch with the top ranked Rockets’ today. The Huskies (7-17, 2-9 MAC) will have their hands full against a Toledo (22-2, 10-1 MAC) team that is currently on a 10-game winning streak. The Rockets...
Softball coach Christina Sutcliffe is not only in her first season as a head coach in the Huskies program, but in her first season as a head coach altogether. Though she may be unfamiliar with the DeKalb area, she is knowledgeable on the game of softball....
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will signify the end of an era for Olympic competition. Wrestling will be in the Olympics for what may be the last time. Last week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to eliminate the sport from...
Head gymnastics coach Sam Morreale knew when he recruited freshman Jaelyn Olsen that she could take over the high scoring position on vault that former gymnast Tanya Rachan held last season. On paper, that was the plan; that plan also included Olsen getting...
Coming into NIU, redshirt junior Jamison Wells’ plan was to play baseball on a scholarship. But halfway through Wells’ freshman year, he realized one sport was not enough. “For me, I knew there was something I could do to help the football team...
The women’s tennis team continues to dominate its opponents by improving to 8-1 on the season after defeating Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, University of Indianapolis, and Butler University this weekend. The Huskies started the...
