Being that it’s early December, it’s beginning to look a lot like … NCAA basketball tournament time.

And, according to NIU women’s basketball coach Jane Albright, the best women’s tourney in the nation will take place right here in DeKalb, this weekend.

The facts back up Albright’s assessment of the Fifth Annual Fastbreak Fest.

The lineup contains North Carolina-Charlotte, California State-Long Beach and Iowa. Albright gives all three teams deserved high marks.

“NC-Charlotte is a dad-gum good team,” Albright said Thursday shortly after her squad lost to South Carolina. “And Long Beach State and Iowa are two of the best teams in the nation.”

Iowa and CSLB will open the show at 2 p.m. Saturday. NC-Charlotte and the Huskies follow at 4 p.m. The Lady 49ers, 18-9 a year ago and 2-1 this young season, are standing in the way of a major NIU goal, Albright said.

“I said at the beginning of the year our first goal was to beat Butler, and our second was to get into the finals of our own tourney,” Albright said. She added she hoped the experience of two tough games against Ohio State and South Carolina would benefit the Huskies since “NC-Charlotte is another quality team.

“We tried to come back against Ohio State and couldn’t do it, and tonight we came close, but we couldn’t get over the hump. But tonight was a little easier. Next time, hopefully, the energy will come a little sooner and we can make it all the way back.”

Should the Huskies beat NC-Charlotte, there will be a 4 p.m. Sunday showdown with either defending 1986-87 co-Big Ten Champion and NCAA final eight finisher Iowa or PCAA Champion and NCAA Final Four finisher Long Beach.

Realistically, the Huskies would do fine to walk away alive and with experience for the future. But to Albright, the future is now.

“Next year—that’s a bunch of junk,” Albright said. “I want to do it now.”

The Saturday-Sunday tournament—with 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. games each day—features some big guns on the opposing teams. Albright said she will take out the histrionics to motivate her players to the upper level.

“I’m gonna scream my lungs out before the game on Saturday,” she said.