Having locked up the No. 3 spot in the MAC West, the NIU women’s basketball team is looking to build momentum heading into the MAC tournament next week.

The Huskies will be on the road for the final two games of the season, starting today as they face MAC West-leading Ball State (20-8 overall, 12-2 MAC) in Muncie, Ind. The Cardinals are riding a six-game winning streak coming into the contest against the Huskies.

NIU (14-13, 9-5) ended a 10-game losing streak against the Cardinals earlier this season when they met in the Convocation Center, winning 76-72.

The Huskies moved into a first-place tie in the MAC West after beating Ball State earlier this season, a game in which senior Jessie Wilcox scored 20 points, going 7-11 from the field.

The Huskies have not won in Muncie since 1999.

“We’ve just got to be focused,” said NIU head coach Carol Owens. “Last time we played them at their place, we went into overtime so they know that we’re going to come out there ready to play.”

NIU could be helped by a duo of players who didn’t have big games against the Cardinals last time out but have been playing exceptional basketball as of late.

Junior guard Kylie York and redshirt senior Aileen Rossouw, who are coming off a victory over Central Michigan in their last home game this season, figure to affect the game’s outcome greatly. In the victory over CMU, York scored 21 points, going 7-10 from beyond the arc and tying a career-high for 3-pointers made. Rossouw is coming off a 10-point, 10-board performance against the Chippewas, posting her third straight double-double.

The Huskies will have a battle on their hands defensively, going up against a Ball State team that hit nine 3-pointers against them earlier this season.

“We’ve got to step up our defense,” Owens said. “Ball State is a 3-point shooting team. They’ve got [Kiley] Jarrett and they’ve got [Audrey] McDonald who shoot the ball very well, so we’ve got to limit their touches.”

McDonald, a junior, is coming off a 15-point performance against Western Michigan, a game in which Ball State hit 11 treys. Perhaps Ball State’s most versatile player, junior Danielle Gratton, led the Cardinals with 18 points.

NIU has confidence that its second half against CMU will be able to propel it forward, however. Before beating the Chippewas, the Huskies had been playing average basketball. But coming back after being down as many as 16, NIU seems to have gained back the swagger it lost.

“I just think we played inspired,” Owens said. “People moving and cutting, when we’re doing that, we [do] pretty well especially when we play Central Michigan in the second half. We were moving the ball well, and that’s key.”

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