NIU women’s basketball coach Jane Albright thinks the 1988-89 version of the Huskies can improve on last season’s 14-14 record by playing more aggressively and creating more turnovers on defense.

A new defensive philosophy aimed at creating more fastbreak-scoring opportunities has Albright and company expecting this year’s squad to run even more than the 1987-88 team.

As a result, Albright thinks NIU fans could see the team allow fewer points this season and score as many points as last year’s high-scoring Huskies did. Last season, NIU broke a school record for scoring, netting 80.9 points-per-game, but also allowed a lot of points, giving up 77.3 ppg.

“We’re going to gamble a lot (defensively),” Albright said at Wednesday’s Media Day. “We want to convert more steals into more scoring opportunities. We’re looking for more opportunities to run.”

Albright said the Huskies’ new defensive scheme will feature more ball-side help-and-recover techniques. The fifth year coach said the team will emphasize increased pressure on the ballhandler so that defenders in the low post area can use a wider variety of fronts.

“The key to it all will be putting more pressure on the ball and stopping penetration,” Albright said. “Otherwise, people will be able to lob to the low post. The increased amount of quickness we have at the guards will allow us to play this way.

“It’s more of a team defense. We’re going to have to react a little bit more and have a little bit more communication. By gambling, we’re going to give up a lot more easy shots, but then again, we’re going to have a lot more steals.”

Albright said the assistance of NIU Strength Coach Jim Zielinski has helped players increase their strength and quickness.

“Most of our people have doubled what they’ve been able to do (strength-wise) in the spring, and everyone’s a lot quicker,” Albright said. “It’s going to make us better at guarding people on defense and quicker on offense.”

While Albright expects two-time team MVP Lisa Foss (19.6 ppg. at a guard spot last year) to be at or near full speed (after a reconstructive surgery for a knee injury last March) when the season opens, Albright said guards Gena Stubbs and Denise Dove will be key factors in the new defensive scheme.

Albright said if the season were to open today, Stubbs would play at the two-guard spot and Dove would start at point guard. Both Stubbs and Dove said they think the Huskies will create a lot more turnovers this season.

“Everybody is more mature mentally this year,” Stubbs said. “We know more of where and when we’re supposed to be on defense without having to think about it.”

“Our defense will be a lot better just because we’re communicating more. Everybody’s working together,” Dove said. “Rather than worrying about one person defensively, we’ll be worrying about two or three people.”