It wasn’t quite the homecoming Wisconsin coach Jane Albright had envisioned.

The former NIU women’s basketball coach and current Badgers boss was beaten 49-47 by her former team in the first regular season game at the Convocation Center.

“It was just another game,” Albright said. “It was just my team, which is Wisconsin, playing another team.”

Albright did acknowledge the atmosphere and her gratitude to the university.

“Anytime you play here it’s tough,” Albright said. “It was an honor to be asked to open a great facility like this.”

Albright, who downplayed any emotional ties to NIU, coached the Huskies for 10 seasons. Her time at NIU represented the most successful years in the NIU’s women’s basketball history.

Albright came to NIU for the 1984-85 season and posted 15 wins in her first season. Four years later, Albright’s Huskies won 20 games for the first time in school history.

The next season, the Huskies made their debut in the women’s NCAA Tournament beating Texas Tech in the first round before falling to Purdue.

The following season produced a birth in the WNIT Tournament and then three straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

In Albright’s tenure at NIU, she posted 188 wins and 110 losses for a .631 winning percentage.

The 188 wins are 79 more than the next closest coach.

The Huskies also produced the longest winning streak in school history under Albright. NIU was undefeated for nearly two months as it reeled of 15 straight wins from Dec. 17, 1988, to Feb. 15, 1989.

Since leaving NIU, the Huskies have made only one more NCAA Tournament while Albright has led the Badgers to nine NCAA tournament appearances.