Back in NIU womens’ basketball coach Carol Owens’ playing days, her practice jersey had a name on the back. It wasn’t her name. In fact, it wasn’t a name at all.

It was the word “attitude,” and it was a quality that her coach Jane Albright was trying to instill in the players.

Owens has adopted that philosophy and is following in Albright’s footsteps by having her team wear similarly identifiable jerseys.

Since the basketball team began practicing a few weeks ago, attitude has been one of the main focuses.

“Attitude is something I had as a player,” Owens said. “It is how you carry yourself in practice. You have to have the right attitude.”

Her players are taking notice.

Redshirt freshman Ebony Ellis is one who has taken the saying to heart.

“If you don’t have attitude, it reflects how you play,” Ellis said. “It’s definitely an important part.”

With the team’s first game a little more than a week away, the team has been focusing on preparing mentally and physically. With a lot of young players on the team, the goal has been to get them on the right track with the right mentality.

“It’s been a lot about intensity, effort and desire,” Owens said. “That is our goal right now.”

While the mental aspect is certainly important, there are a few on-the-court aspects that the team is paying close attention to – specifically on the defensive end.

After losing two of their leading scorers from last season in Stephanie Raymond and Kristin Wiener, it is still up in the air where the offense is going to come from. Until then, Owens’ is trying to establish the Huskies as a defensive force in the MAC.

“We don’t know who our leading scorer is going to be right now,” Owens said. “We’re really paying a lot of attention to defense. We have some players on this team that are very good defenders, and we’d like to become known for our defense.”