Only time will tell if the women’s basketball team from Wisconsin-Milwaukee is coming to DeKalb at the right time.

Huskie fans will either see a possessed Lisa Foss or an NIU team struggling to overcome an intensity drop when the Huskies take on the UW-M Panthers Tuesday at 7 p.m. The 8-11 Panthers would obviously hope for the struggling team.

NIU is coming off one of its most emotional wins of the season. Last Thursday’s 81-80 heart-stopping victory over Wisconsin-Green Bay was the Huskies’ seventh win in a row and put NIU atop the North Star Conference with a 7-0 mark.

One startling statistic from that win was Foss’ 5-of-19 shooting from the field. Foss still managed 17 points and became NIU’s all-time leading scorer, but the senior labeled the game, “a terrible shooting night.”

“I’d hate to be the team coming in here on Tuesday night,” NIU coach Jane Albright said in reference to Foss’ mediocre shooting percentage.

On the other hand, NIU must come down to earth because it’s teams like UW-M that cause the most problems after such big wins.

“Certainly after a big win like Thursday’s,” Albright acknowledged, “we don’t want to have any letdowns by letting them come in here and beat us.”

Albright feels her team won’t lack the concentration necessary, even if the Panthers are not a conference opponent.

“I don’t think our team does that type of thing,” Albright said. “We just take one game at a time. As for them being non-conference, I think it adds a little flavor.”

The Panthers are experiencing some growing pains in their first year as a Division I program. Their 8-11 ledger includes a loss to NSC affiliate, the University of Illinois-Chicago. UW-M dropped a 59-47 decision to the Flames, but knocked off Akron (68-59) and Wright State (73-55). Most noteably, the Panthers gave UW-GB a tight game.

“I think they are an up and down team,” Albright said. “They played Green Bay to within 12 points, so they’re a very capable team.”

Panther coach Mary Ann Kelling admitted that NIU poses a formidable challenge, but thinks a strong performance against the Huskies is important for such an independent school.

“I know Northern is a great team,” Kelling said. “Right now, we’re just getting a lot of experience. We just want to play the best we can.”

However, Kelling may not be that well briefed on the Huskies. Kelling said, “(NIU) has a good balance inside and outside, and an All-American candidate, don’t they?”

Kelling said her team prefers an up-tempo style, but if she wants to run with the Huskies and knows little about Lisa Foss, the Panthers could be in for a long, long evening.