Huskie basketball is underway at NIU, and the outlook is encouraging for the 1989-90 women’s basketball team.

Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Jane Albright, the women are looking to improve on their stellar 23-7 season of a year ago. With only one departed player from last year’s squad, the Huskies have the talent and experience to climb the national rankings and prove that last year was no fluke.

Last season, the cagers climbed as far as 22nd in the Associated Press’ weekly poll, and ended up 12-2 in the North Star Conference. The Huskies were denied any post-season play and will not be satisfied with just a great record this year.

“Last season was an ‘unfinished year’ as far as all of us—players and coaches—are concerned,” Albright stated. “We let ourselves down, and that experience created a natural bonding and has made this group a very hungry team on a mission.”

One reason the Huskies were not invited to participate in post-season play last year was because of the way the team fizzled out at the end of the season. The Huskies lost four out of their last eight games, including the conference championship to DePaul. Their finish could be attributed to the Huskies playing the bulk of the year with only seven players. This year the Huskies will have a full squad of 12 to take the court.

“Our greater numbers this year will keep us fresher,” Albright explained. “Nobody will have to play 40 minutes. I think in February we had dead legs.”

One reason for the Huskies’ depth is the four returning starters from last year’s squad and two starters returning from the ‘87-88 team.

Tammy Hinchee, Denise Dove, Kris Weis, and pre-season NSC Player of the Year Carol Owens are all back from last year. Toby Meeks and ’87-88 team MVP Lisa Foss round-out the returning starters.

Depth will also come from the bench. Two sophomores, Dee Dee Jeske and Tracy Mondek, saw considerable time last year and will again back-up the starters. Rounding-out the team is third-year walk-on Denise Lipnisky, freshmen Soyini Chism and Tiana Burkholder, and walk-on Julie Gainer.

While most of the attention will focus on senior center Carol Owens, eyes will also be on junior red-shirt Lisa Foss. Foss sat out last year with a knee injury, but has recovered completely and is looking forward to getting back to the Huskie lineup.

“Sitting out a year may have helped me more than hurt me,” Foss said. “I got to see the game from the coach’s side. I had always experienced it from a player’s view and I’ve learned a lot about it in that respect.”

The Huskies have numerous goals for this season with the NCAA tournament in the back of everyone’s mind.

“We want to go further than last year,” says junior guard Denise Dove. “We’re all focused on the same goal—to get to the NCAA tournament.”

“Our goals are extremely high,” coach Albright said. “We obviously want to win our conference and go to the NCAA tournament, but we want to do more than just that.”

In order for the Huskies to receive a bid to the national tournament in March, they need to have a good record and play a competitive schedule. This season the women’s team has to face one of the toughest schedules in NIU history, culminating on Feb. 5, 1990 when the Huskies take on defending national champion—and former employer of Jane Albright _Tennessee.

“Playing those power-ranked teams will give us a big advantage over last year,” Albright said. “I think when you play a team like that (Tennessee), it’s a moment you think about the rest of your life. The pressure will be on them.”

Although many people think the pressure is on the Huskies to repeat a great record, coach Albright said it’s “not pressure, but motivation” that will make the women’s basketball season a successful one.

The key word for the Huskies this season should be versatility. They have speed, size, depth, and experience. Some teams would like to have one of those characteristics—the Huskies have them all.

Execution and team defense are things the Huskies have worked on in the pre-season. If they can put it all together, things could get exciting in the Chick Evans Field House.