A new month is upon us, but for the NIU women’s basketball team, it’s the same old story…win, win, win.

That’s what the Huskies are going to have to do if they expect to get a bid to the NCAA tournament next month. So a strong showing in February is a top priority for Jane Albright and her Huskies.

“I’m looking for the month of February for us to play the best month of basketball we’ve ever played here,” Albright said. “Every single game is a tournament game.”

If that is the case, the tournament starts in DeKalb Saturday as the Huskies play host to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in a 2:00 matchup of North Star Conference leaders.

NIU and UWGB are currently undefeated in the NSC. The Huskies post a 5-0 mark and the Phoenix come in at 4-0. Another relevant point to the game is that UWGB was the only team to beat NIU in DeKalb last season—an 85-63 win that came in front of the largest crowd of the year.

Don’t think the Huskies have forgotten.

“First of all, we need to be reminded that last year we had our biggest crowd of the year and they upset us,” Albright said.

NIU, who broke into the USA Today Poll for the first time at the No. 24 slot and retained its 24th ranking in the AP, is coming home for the first time in three weeks.

“We are real, real anxious about getting to play here,” Albright said. “And I’m expecting to play for the full 40 minutes.”

Albright said the Phoenix have an intense work ethic that their 16-year coach, Carole Hammerle has incorporated into the UWGB system.

“(UWGB) has a true emotion offense,” Albright said. “They set a lot of screens and their work ethic is the best we’ll ever see.”

Something that Albright will see is a lopsided post game. UWGB lost their key inside player in last year’s center, Karen Kupper and the Phoenix lack the inexperience in the paint to match up equally with the Huskies.

“They don’t have the experience in the post position,” Albright said. “So, I think we’ll play better in the post.”

Other key losses for the Phoenix are Donna Gunville and Sue Aspenson. Gunville, a scoring guard, averaged 14.4 ppg, while Aspenson came on strong near the end of last season and earned second-team all-NSC honors.

UWGB finished last season with an 11-3 conference record and a 19-10 overall mark. Besides defeating NIU at the fieldhouse, the Phoenix knocked off NSC power Depaul in Green Bay.

From the trainers room, the word on Tammy Hinchee is much better. The 6-2 forward feels better than prior to the UIC game. Putting in more time for NIU because of Hinchee’s condition is Tracy Mondek.

“Tracy had the best game since she’s been here,” Albright said. “She’s showing signs she’s everything we want her to be.”