The Benedictine University women's basketball team has a busy week ahead, as the team will play three Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference games. BenU will play at Concordia-Chicago on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., at home against Wisconsin Lutheran on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., and at Milwaukee School of Engineering on Saturday at 4:15 p.m.

Benedictine (8-10, 8-5) had Saturday's game against Edgewood postponed due to the snowstorm that hit the area, but the team did get a win earlier in the week. Back on Wednesday, the Eagles defeated Alverno 73-66 in an important NACC road match. Junior guard Meghan Novak (12.3ppg) led the way with 15 points, junior guard Michelle Batty (4.7ppg) and sophomore forward Briana Hamilton (9.7ppg, 4.7rpg) each had 11 points off the bench, and the Eagles led by 17 at the half en route to a victory. The win over Alverno, coupled with an Alverno loss to Wisconsin Lutheran on Saturday, moved the Eagles to fifth place in the NACC.

The Eagles will take on 11th place Concordia-Chicago (1-18, 1-13) on Tuesday, taking the trip down I-88/290 just like the men's team did last week. Like BenU, CUC was also postponed on Saturday, so the Cougars have not played since defeating Rockford 84-80 on Wednesday. It was the first victory of the year for Concordia-Chicago.

CUC's beaten Rockford and lost by just five at second-place Concordia-Wisconsin over the last two games. Senior forward April Broska (12.1ppg, 4.9rpg) has led the charge over that span, scoring 28 in the win over Rockford and 19 in the loss at CUW. Benedictine defeated the Cougars 76-72 back on December 17, but CUC gave BenU a second half scare after trailing by 10 at halftime. Novak led the Eagles with 20 points in that contest, while junior guard Vincenza Ranallo (11.8ppg, 5.4rpg) added 18 and junior guard Alanna Ferry (5.5ppg, 3.3rpg, 3.3apg) chipped in 17.

Wisconsin Lutheran (15-3, 13-1) comes to the Dan and Ada Rice Center on Thursday night for a make-up game that was postponed in the first week of January. Already having clinched a spot in the NACC Tournament, Wisconsin Lutheran holds a one-game lead over CUW for first place after defeating the Falcons 51-40 on Wednesday. The conference powerhouse is now 72-4 in NACC games since the 2010-2011 season.

The Eagles and Warriors met on January 25, with the Warriors prevailing 65-51. BenU led by double-digits in the first half and by four at halftime, but Wisconsin Lutheran held BenU to just 17 second half points. Hamilton led the Eagles with 14 points off the bench, while Ranallo (12) and Novak (11) also scored in double-figures.

Benedictine will head up to Milwaukee on Saturday to take on MSOE (12-8, 10-5), one of the biggest surprises in the NACC this season. After winning just two total games a season ago, the Raiders sit at third place in the NACC. However, the Raiders are currently on a two-game losing streak, dropping games at Lakeland and Rockford last week. It is a big week for the Raiders, as not only will they face BenU on Saturday, but fourth-place Edgewood on Tuesday as well.

MSOE defeated BenU at the Dan and Ada Rice Center on January 15 by a score of 76-69. Senior guard Michelle Gaede led the Eagles with 15 points, six rebounds, and seven assists in that contest, while Hamilton added 12 points.