Sorry to distract anyone from football, but ...

In a previous post, I whaled all over the same-old same-old, run-and-shoot that was NIU's main weakness last year and got NIU stomped by Harvard this year. So I owe it to come back with this: the team that beat Bradley on Monday 80-59 looked completely different. And good. Really good.

Also note -- Bradley was 3-0 coming off a 64-57 win over Wisconsin and has a record-setting 3-point shooter.

According to post-game accounts from both schools, NIU's inside game won it. A'Jah Davis and Mikayla Brandon both had double-doubles, Davis led with 21 points, Chelby Koker got her (usual) 18 and NIU had four players score in double figures.

But what the highlight video (worth watching) that comes with the official website link ( see below) shows is a strong inside game, not only outside-to-inside but a lot of inside-to-outside passing, and some nifty cross-court passing to the open shooter. The passing was crisp, the moves inside found the creases, and the teamwork was better than seen in a while. It also showed the Huskies can go inside as well as outside, a more complete team package.

Brandon (6-1), Davis (6-1) and Emily Meinert (6-0) played well as "tall" guards. NIU had a 42-34 rebounding edge, but where it really made a difference was a 27-18 edge on defense. The Huskies also got 42 points in the paint, a big change from a team that relied so heavily on threes.

This, I hope, is the Huskies' A-game, or something like it. Have they finally got it together?

Might be worth a look on Sunday (Nov. 28) when the Huskies (2-1) host Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Unfortunately, the game at 1 p.m. is relegated to ESPN3. Oh well.

https://niuhuskies.com/news/2021/11/22/w...adley.aspx

I was at the game and the Huskies played about as well as one can play especially in the first half so give them all the credit they deserve. I will say having been there before as a player/coach they caught Bradley at the right time. Bradley was coming off a big victory against Wisconsin at home Friday night and I’m sure they were super pumped for that one and now 2-3 days later they have to go on the road and play against a team that was at their best. That’s tough to do but like I said give our Lady Huskies all the credit it was fun to watch an effort like that. Another pretty decent opponent coming in Sunday at 1:00 University of Wisconsin Milwaukee-keep it going Lady Huskies!