After struggling through a Christmas break dominated by five straight road losses, the white shirts of home will be a welcome sight for the 3-8 NIU women’s basketball team.

With Notre Dame heading into Chick Evans Field House tonight at 7, Coach Jane Albright has her players concentrating on a modest undefeated string for the Huskies in their home whites.

“I think that we’re a team that’s beginning to gel,” Albright said Tuesday. “Each game we’re getting better in certain areas, and we haven’t been consistent in those areas. One game we might correct our shooting, and then our defense is not good.”

The Fighting Irish will come in with a 3-8 record and a towering frontcourt. Center Heidi Bunek stands 6-foot-4 and leads the team with a 12.7 points-per-game average. Forwards Annie Schwartz and Sandy Botham stack up at 6-3 and 6-2, respectively.

The Huskies will counter with 6-1 Tammy Hinchee and 6-foot Shelly Roberts. Looking at the Irish, Albright was quick to point out the height disadvantage facing NIU.

“They’re very big. Obviously we don’t want to get into a half-court game with them. We’d like to get the ball and go,” said Albright, who called the Irish “the best 3-8 team in the country.”

Albright said the Huskies need to shut down the Notre Dame offense to break their five-game skid. NIU has had trouble keeping its opponents in check on the defensive end so far this season.

The Christmas campaign kicked off with the Huskies’ own Fastbreak Fest, where NIU finished second to a lightning-fast Old Dominion team. The Huskies stayed close early before the Lady Monarchs crashed the boards and coasted to a 89-71 victory.

Following a win over Cincinnati, the five road games popped up.

The Huskies swung through the South and fell to Houston, Baylor and Texas A&M. Albright called the 102-95 final at Houston the “most bizarre game I’ve ever coached in.” Four technical fouls were called, including the ejection of Lady Cougar Coach Greg Williams, and 78 foul shots were taken.

Freshmen Hinchee and Lisa Foss had the biggest nights of their young careers in the melee. Hinchee scored 31 points while Foss added 23 and set a school record with 18 free throw attempts, 11 of which hit home.

Albright had high marks for her two star freshmen, who are the Huskies’ top two scorers. Albright praised Hinchee for stepping in for Owens and solidifying the Huskie frontcourt.

“I think she showed she can really dominate a game (at Houston), and that’s something she needs to do,” Albright said of Hinchee, who sank 14 field goals to set a Huskie season high. Hinchee is also the team leader in shooting percentage and rebounding.

Foss tops the team in points (206), scoring average (18.7), and steals (29), as well as every free-throw category.

“You look at Lisa, and she’s not a one-dimensional player,” Albright said of Foss, who has finished in double figures in every game, including scoring 20 in five straight. “She basically is almost our second assist person. She turns into a more complete player each game.”

But no amount of heroics could save NIU from two more defeats at Ohio State and Northwestern after the Texas losses. Both the Buckeyes and the Wildcats topped the Huskies by 20 points, which Albright said is out of the ordinary for her team this season.

“Last year we got blown out in quite a few games. This year, we aren’t winning them, but we’re in every game,” she said. “The thing we haven’t been able to do in a game like Texas A&M (an 85-69 loss), we go from a six-point game, play them even for 28 minutes, then we’ll make very critical mistakes, and instead of six, it’s 16. That’s where our youth is killing us.”

Albright’s point can be illustrated in the Northwestern loss, where the Huskies fell victim to hot shooting by the opposition. The Wildcats were hitting from everywhere, and NIU forced shots in retaliation. The Huskies ended up shooting 36 percent on the night.

Watching intently from the bench has been injured star Carol Owens, who has been keeping rebound charts and providing inspiration to her teammates. Owens said she has seen team growth during the tough Christmas break.

“We’re kind of struggling right now with our losses, but with every game we’re learning,” said Owens. “After the Northwestern game, they realized what it takes to win. I think you’ll see a more hungry team coming in this January, especially when we play Notre Dame. They’re really looking forward to the game.”

“We haven’t lost in our whites. That’s something to lean on.”