There was plenty of food for most to eat over Thanksgiving break, but the NIU women’s basketball team is still hungry for a big win.

The Huskies (2-4) were unsatisfied with a 77-62 loss to Bradley (5-1) Tuesday evening, only to leave with another empty plate in a 71-64 loss to Milwaukee (3-2) on Saturday.

Center Ebony Ellis continued to be a presence as she leads NIU in scoring and rebounding for the season. The sophomore put up 28 points and 15 rebounds in the past two games.

Ellis almost had a double-double against Milwaukee, but fell one rebound short. Both games produced similar stories at halftime as the Huskies held a one-point advantage against Bradley and were tied with Milwaukee entering the second half.

With just under 12 minutes remaining in the game, the Braves put together a 15-4 run, which NIU could never recover from.

Similarly, on Saturday, the Panthers started a 14-6 run with a little less than 14 minutes left in the contest. Once again, the Huskies couldn’t bounce back from the string of offensive points.

NIU also struggled to win the rebounding game against both opponents. Bradley held a 44-32 board advantage over NIU, while the Panthers produced a 36-25 rebounding edge over the Huskies.

Rebounding proved to be crucial in the loss to Milwaukee as NIU allowed it to gain 17 of its 36 rebounds from the offensive glass.

“This is a disappointing loss,” said NIU head coach Carol Owens after Saturday’s loss. “Giving up that many offensive rebounds can kill a team in terms of them making a run.”

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