It was another chock full week of Huskie action, with nine teams in action                        both in DeKalb and on the road.
                        
                        Men's Basketball: The Huskies returned to MAC                        West play and stepped out for a non-conference matchup this week, but                        suffered a pair of losses. Playing in the Convo Wednesday night, NIU 
dropped                        a 78-63 decision to Western Michigan as Tony Nixon scored a season-high                        12 points for Northern. The Huskies stepped out of conference play Saturday                        for a BracketBuster game at SIU-Edwardsville. Despite 12 points each from                        Abdel Nader and Nixon, the Cougars drilled a last-second shot to 
defeat                        NIU, 64-62.                                                
Women's Basketball: Northern Illinois split a pair of MAC                        West games at home during the week to start on the regular season home                        stretch. NIU evened their record to 12-12 overall and 6-6 in the MAC with                        
a                        58-44 win against Ball State, with Claire Jakubicek leading the way                        with 17 points. That momentum did not last for the Huskies, though, as they                        
dropped                        a 77-57 game to Eastern Michigan. Kim Davis led the way with 26                        points.                                                
Wrestling: The Huskies closed out their 2011-12 regular                        season Saturday with 
a                        23-14 loss to Buffalo. Shawn Fayette (149), Brad Dieckhaus (184), Mike                        Lukowski (197) and Jared Torrence (285) each won matches on Senior Day, but                        Buffalo's six wins - including a pin and two major decisions - were too                        much to overcome.                                                
Gymnastics: Northern Illinois came up with its                        second-highest score of the 2012 season but it was not enough to overcome a                        strong performance by Mid-American Conference powerhouse Kent State Sunday                        as the 
Huskies                        fell 195.525-193.625.                                                
Track & Field: The Northern Illinois track & field                        team ended their 2011-12 indoor regular season with an impressive showing                        at the Ball State Quadrangular, as they captured three event titles and                        broke two school records 
en                        route to a second-place finish. Janay Mitchell Broke the school's 60                        meters record for the third time this season with a time of 7.54, while                        Roneisha Frye eclipsed the 60 hurdles record with a run of 8.59.                                                
Baseball: Northern Illinois opened their 2012 season at                        Tennessee, but were swept by the Volunteers in the three-game set. The                        Huskie bats went silent in the first game, only scoring one run in 
a                        7-1 defeat. They would get more run support in a Saturday doubleheader,                        but 
dropped                        both games to the Vols, 10-5 and 7-2.                                                
Softball: The Huskies dropped all three games in a                        rain-soaked weekend in North Texas to fall to 3-5 on the season. NIU 
lost                        their tournament opener to Creighton, 5-4, in eight innings Friday                        morning, then were bested, 8-3, by the host Mean Green. After Saturday's                        action was rained out, NIU could not get timely hitting in 
a                        5-1 loss to Creighton Sunday.                                                
Men's Tennis: The Huskies improved to 6-0 at home this                        year with 
a                        pair of wins against Valparaiso and IUPUI. NIU began the day with a 6-1                        win over the Crusaders, then folloowed that up with a 5-2 defeat of the                        Jaguars.                                                
Men's Golf: Northern Illinois opened their 2012 spring                        season in Dade City, Fla., where they took 
third                        place at the MAC Match Play tournament. After a convincing 4-2 win over                        Ohio in the opening round, the Huskies nearly knocked off top-seeded Ball                        State in the semifinals, but fell 3.5-2.5. NIU would rally in the third                        place match, though, with a 4.5-1.5 win against Miami (Ohio).                        
                        Another busy week awaits the Huskies with seven teams in action. Among                        them, only men's tennis and gymnastics are at home. the men's tennis squad                        looks keep their perfect home record intact Saturday against Dayton and                        Western Illinois, then Sunday versus Cleveland State. Meanwhile, gymnastics                        hosts Central Michigan Sunday in DeKalb.