The loss of center Jen Keitel has also forced UNI to alter its offense, but the Panthers appear to have found some momentum with just one game remaining prior to the start of conference play.

"We have to find a way to get some easy baskets, some buckets in the paint," UNI head coach Tanya Warren said. "Our scheme has to change a little bit with the loss of Jen, and we're just getting Steph back, so we'll work on some things. We'll be ready come conference."

During Sunday's game, UNI held Northern Illinois to 16 first-half points. But the Huskies erupted for 13 points on 6 of 7 shooting in the first five minutes of the second half to cut their deficit to 32-29.

UNI's Johnson answered with a jumper and guard Sharnae Lamar found Weekly for a 3-pointer to put the Panthers back up by eight points, and Northern Illinois never pulled closer than five from there.

"The biggest key was just to keep confident," Brown said. "There was still a lot of game left and just because we were up for the full first half doesn't mean that we were guaranteed to win the game. We had to continue to fight and understand that one shot is not going to end the game for them or us."