If you happen to see a member of the women’s basketball team walking around the campus, ask her what time it is.

With NIU’s 63-60 championship triumph over the Louisville Cardinals Sunday night in Anchorage, Alaska, each Huskie received a gold watch for their efforts.

“Yeah, everybody’s wearing their watches today,” Albright said after the 12-hour flight back. “During the ride home, everybody was asking each other what time it was, so that was kind of the joke.”

The ironic part of the whole return trip was that the Louisville squad was on the same plane with the Huskies.

“They (Louisville) didn’t have anything to say,” Albright admitted. “To beat a team like Louisville was great, especially in the come-from-behind fashion.”

NIU (23-5) trailed the Cardinals by a 26-18 mark at the intermission, but utilized a strong second-half defense to capture its third tournament crown of the season.

Lisa Foss ignited the Huskies in the latter half, but it may have been crowd support that lifted NIU to the throne.

“As soon as the home team (University of Anchorage-Alaska) lost, everybody wanted us to win,” Albright said. “We were the good guys, so it was really fun.”

Foss tallied 85 points for the trio of Great White North games en route to her selection as tournament MVP.

“Lisa’s really elevating her game,” Albright said. “Her shooting percentage for the tournament was just phenomenal.”

All of the Huskies rose to the occasion despite not practicing an ounce while staying in Alaska. The team covered as much of the state as it could.