November 8th is like December 25th for at least 13 women at NIU.

It’s Christmas come early for the NIU women’s basketball team as the Huskies host a Norwegian National women’s basketball squad Thursday at 7 p.m. at Chick Evans Field House.

NIU is eager to kick the season into full gear, after halting successful 26-5 season in the second round of last season’s NCAA Tournament at Purdue University. Opposing the Huskies in the exhibition contest is the Hoybraten Team of Oslo, Norway, which begins its eight-school Midwest tour in DeKalb.

“It’s their very first game,” NIU coach Jane Albright said. “I think the emphasis will be on NIU, not them.”

Albright suggested that the game will be a preview of what’s to come for the NIU team. Although winning is a priority for every game, the seventh-year coach stressed the opportunity to play the Norwegian team as a tune-up type affair.

“We certainly aren’t a polished team,” Albright said. “We have a lot of objectives for this game. We wil play a lot of people, evaluate some things and see what we need to tune-up.”

Hoybraten has won the Norwegian Women’s National Championship for the last ten years and is favored to repeat in 1990. The squad list features six members of the Norwegian National Team, plus one American in Karyn Marshall. The team posted a 5-1 record on a 1988 tour of collegiate teams from the Northeastern region.

Minus all-time NIU scoring leader, Carol Owens and career- best rebounder, Tammy Hinchee, Albright stressed the fact that there will be a “new team” on the floor tonight. Which is not to be confused with the 1989-90 squad that won the North Star Conference and played in the NCAA Tournament.

“Last year is history,” Albright said. “We’re all proud of what we achieved, but this year’s team is a new role. While the offensive and defensive system is the same, we’ve redesigned our team. I expect for us to set the tempo for the year in this game.”