When Northwestern comes into State Farm Center on Thursday night, it should be a matchup between two teams in similar situations, as both the Wildcats and the Illini are in need of a conference win.

The Illinois women’s basketball team enters the game at 2-4 in conference play, while the Wildcats sit at 3-3. Both teams come into the matchup on losing streaks, Illinois dropped three in a row while Northwestern has lost two straight. Both teams possess young talent and are looking to get things back on track.

“(Northwestern) is just much better (this year),” head coach Matt Bollant said. “Three of their better players went from freshman to sophomore, and that’s usually when you see a big jump.”

Northwestern’s balanced attack could create issues for the shorthanded Illini, who are missing their leading scorer, senior guard Ivory Crawford, who is out with a knee injury. The Wildcats have four players averaging double-digit points for both the full season and conference play. To match that balanced attack, Illinois will need to see more production from some of its main rotation players. One of those players will be Amarah Coleman, who has been inserted into the starting spot opened up with Crawford being sidelined for a few more weeks. Coleman is coming off her career-high with 24 points against Maryland.

“As a freshman, of course, I look to come in and start,” Coleman said. “It’s not a good thing that Ivory got injured, but I knew as another strong suit to the team that I needed to come and step up and help the team out.”

While Bollant and his staff are depending heavily on Coleman as a freshman, their most consistent contributor has been another freshman. Chatrice White has already racked in three Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. White will be tested against Northwestern, who has a few post players who can match White’s size down low.

“I personally like playing against bigger posts than me because it gives me a chance to bang around inside, and that’s what I like to do,” White said.

Reflecting on last season’s matchup against Northwestern will make it even harder for the Illini to get over missing Ivory Crawford for this edition of the rivalry. Crawford scored 16 second-half points to get Illinois its first conference win with a 76-74 finish. That void will have to be filled collectively for Illinois to overcome Crawford’s absence.

“I think each of us needs to find our game and what we’re best at,” White said. “(We need to) just continue to grow at that part to fill that void that Ivory carried for our team.”

With Crawford or without, a win to snap the three-game losing streak would be big for Bollant’s team. Building chemistry has been something a few of the players have touched on since the team’s trip to the Virgin Islands, but White thinks it could still be shown more on the court.

“We’re always together, hanging out, laughing together,” White said. “I think that comfortable feeling needs to carry over more to the court, and I think once that happens, once we start moving as a unit, we’ll be even better.”

Brett can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @Blerner10.