There is only one word that can describe the reaction of the NIU women’s basketball team after Sunday’s 78-72 upset over nationally ranked North Carolina State—euphoric.

The victory enabled the Huskies (3-1) to capture blue-ribbon honors in the 6th Annual NIU/Contel Fastbreak Fest held Saturday and Sunday at Chick Evans Field House. The win marks the first time the Huskies were able to win their own tourney.

NIU head coach Jane Albright knew all along that her squad would need to play 40 minutes of intense play to keep the Wolfpack down. And when the game was over, the NIU boss could pride her team on a very big win.

“This is the biggest victory since I’ve been here,” said an elated Albright. “This is also the first time we’ve beaten a Top-20 caliber team. We had to play all out for 40 minutes. If we would have played for 39 minutes, we would have lost.”

N.C. State coach Kay Yow, who led the 1988 United States’ Women’s Olympic basketball team to the Gold Medal, was disappointed with her team’s loss but complimented the Huskies’ performance.

“Everybody on their team played well and complemented each other,” Yow said. “We’re just not clicking in that way. I hope I can take a loss with class, but it’s still a loss which is a great disappointment.”

Tournament MVP Carol Owens paced the way for the Huskies by scoring a career-high 33 points. The 6-foot-3 center didn’t just score points—Owens also brought down 13 rebounds to lead the Huskies in that category.

Another player who shined for NIU was point guard Denise Dove, who played the entire 40 minutes of the game. The Minnesota native compiled 16 points for NIU, 12 of which came on 3-point shots. The 5-foot-7 sophomore led the Huskies in assists with eight and tied Tammy Hinchee in the steals column with three. After the game, Dove gave her opinion of when she thought NIU had the chance to win.

“With about two minutes left to go, we felt a turnaround,” Dove said. “We felt an energy, like the momentum was swinging our way. We knew we were going to win. There was nothing holding us back.”

Following a Krista Kilburn layup for N.C. State with 1:59 left to play in the game, Dove took the ball down court and scored from beyond the 19-foot-9-inch arc for three points to give the Huskies a 73-69 lead. Kris Weis took it to the hole next for the Huskies to give NIU a six point lead with 1:20 remaining.

The Wolfpack cut the Huskies’ lead to four points after a Rhonda Mapp layup with 46 seconds left on the clock. With the clock reading 33 seconds, an N.C. State foul sent Gena Stubbs to the line for NIU. Stubbs sank the first basket but failed on the second attempt, giving the Huskies a 76-71 lead.

N.C. State scored once more on a free throw, but with five seconds left, Stubbs delivered the final blow by hitting two shots from the free-throw line.

In the consolation game, Temple defeated Butler 82-53. NIU handed Butler a 91-77 loss on Saturday, sending the Huskies to the championship game.