Three months and fourteen games later, the NIU women’s basketball team is No. 1 in the nation.

No. 1 in scoring that is.

The Huskies, currently enjoying a seven-game winning streak, are averaging 96.1 points per game, which is tops in NCAA Divsion I women’s basketball. The high-potent offense has enabled the 12-2 Huskies to climb up to No. 27 in both the AP and the USA Today national polls.

The 96.1 tally is 10 points higher than NIU’s 1988-89 final season average of 86.4 points per contest, and the main reason NIU is putting so many points on the board is because of its .486 field goal percentage.

“We’re shooting a phenomenal percentage,” NIU coach Jane Albright said. “It’s something that just happened—we didn’t plan on it, but we are very proud of it (the number one ranking) and it’s something we hope we can hold on to.”

If the starting five keep producing like they have in the first 14 games, they will remain on top. The Huskies have three of their starters averaging over 20 points an outing. Seniors Carol Owens and Tammy Hinchee check-in at 21.4 and 20.9 points per contest and Lisa Foss isn’t far behind averaging 20.3 points. The totals rank the three Huskies as the number 1-2-3 North Star Conference scorers, respectively. The other senior starter, Kris Weis, is fourth on the Huskie list with 12.8 points per game. Weis is also riding a streak of 22 straight free throws. Weis has only missed three free shots all season which brings her charity stripe percentage to .933—tops in the NSC. Rounding out the Huskie attack, point guard Denise Dove is averaging just under 8 points with a 7.9 average. The balance of the first five is what keeps opponents on the run.

“We have a lot of freedom within our system,” Albright said. “Our team is very unselfish. Scoring’s fun and we have a group of people being the best they can be in our system.”

Albright credited the success of the offense to NIU’s ability to score on the opponents possessions. She said the games aren’t a back-and-forth battle with each team scoring, rather the Huskie defense is coming up with turnovers and turning them into offensive points.

“I think our defense is very good,” Albright said. “We give opponents a lot of chances, but we are scoring on opponents possessions like off of steals.”

Another reason for the Huskie potency is the fact that opponents are unable to key on one player. One night Owens can score 41 like she did against the University of Illinois. The next night Hinchee comes up with 35 points like she did at San Diego State. Just when the opponents think they have the Huskie offense under control, Foss goes on a tear to score 26 points like she did against California State-Fullerton.

“No one tries to be the leading scorer,” Albright said. “Different people are leading in scoring on any given night so it’s hard for the defense to key on any one player.”