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Women excited about height, depth
After an 8-19 record last season, the SCSU women's basketball team needed to get bigger, deeper and healthy.
Coach Lori Ulferts believes the team reached all those off-season goals.
First, the Huskies needed to get bigger. How do you get bigger? Well, you can bring in six players 5-foot-10 or taller.
"(Last year) We were getting beat out on the boards," Ulferts said. "We just did not have the size of other teams."
The Huskies also wanted to get deeper. With all the injuries last year, the team struggled to hold competitive practices. This year, that is not the case.
"It is making practice so much fun," said first-year player Rachel Davis. "Every single day your goal is to beat someone out."
Then the team needed to get healthy. Last year, the Huskies had to play the majority of the season without several players including this year's co-captain Jess Abrahams.
"The difference between this year and last year is the injuries," Ulferts said. "We had three people injured right off the bat. Two were season-ending injuries."
"You cannot compete in this league when you get a large amount of injuries."
Forwards
When SCSU begins the season Nov. 14 against UM-Crookston, you better buy a program. There is a massive turnover in the frontcourt.
One player who does return is senior Kris DeGroot. DeGroot, from Luverne, averaged 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds. Both statistics led the team.
DeGroot was strictly a center last year. This year she will play a lot of forward.
The coaching staff has me playing a lot of the four," DeGroot said. "During the off-season, I worked on my outside shot and my ball handling."
DeGroot is looking at putting last year's losing season behind her. She worked very hard during the off-season.
"A.J. (Andrea Shrogren) and I went to the gym at 5:30 every morning," DeGroot said. "We also played basketball every Monday night."
Other returning frontcourt players include 6-foot-1 Kelly Heinen and 5-foot-11 April Carlson.
Heinen, a Spicer native, averaged 4.9 points and 3.8 rebounds during her first season.
Carlson, also a sophomore, started 10 games for the Huskies last year. The Hugo native averaged 2.5 points and three rebounds a game.
With so many young post players, Coach Ulferts went to the junior college ranks looking for a veteran player. She out-recruited several Division II schools for Iowa Lakes star Krista Kettner.
Kettner, a 6-foot-2 junior from Nicollet, was second team all-region her sophomore year. Kettner averaged 11.9 points and seven rebounds a game. She shot 55 percent from the field and 72 percent from the free-throw line.
Kettner suffered leg problems early on in practice, but says she is recovering quickly.
"I am almost going full," Kettner said. "I am hoping to play against Crookston."
Finally, there are the first-year players. So far, Coach Ulferts has been rotating the young players, looking for a couple standouts.
"Our freshmen look better and better," Ulferts said. "We are pleased to see players that we need to step up are stepping up."
First year players 6-foot-2 Erica Quigley and 5-foot-11 Rachel Davis have been two of the early surprises.
"Erica Quigley (from Duluth) is strong," Ulferts said. "Rachel Davis (From Elk River) is listed at 5-foot-11, but she can jump. She runs the court extremely well."
Six-foot-two Stillwater native Sarah Cotner, and 5-foot-11 Green Bay, Wis. native Chandra Schmechel are other frontcourt contributors.
"Thank goodness we have all these players," Ulferts said. "Because we had only one true post last year."
Guards
While first-year players dominate the frontcourt, veterans are in charge of the backcourt.
Co-captains Sascha Hansen and Jessica Abrahams lead the backcourt.
Abrahams, who had her 2002-2003 season cut short by a knee injury, is back and healthy. The Detroit Lakes native averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and two assists throughout her career and should be one of the Huskies top offensive threats.
Hansen, from Marshall, enters her second season at the point. Hansen was the only Husky to start all 27 games.
The sophomore point guard averaged 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. She is also a great free throw shooter. Last year, Hansen rank fourth in NCC making 77 percent of her free throws.
With Abrahams and Hansen running the backcourt, the Huskies plan to get up and down the court.
"We work on the break everyday," Hansen said.
Other experienced backcourt players expected to make an impact are 5-foot-7 juniors Katie Huschle and Molly Jensen, 5-foot-10 senior guard Andrea Shogren and first-year shooting guard Shannon Francis.
Huschle started 22 games last year. She averaged 10 points and 3.1 assists per game.
Jensen will run the point with Hansen. The junior started 19 games, averaging 6.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
Shogren is one of only three seniors on the young Huskies. The Moorhead native was named to the All-NCC academic team for a second time last season. Shogren has appeared in 84 games throughout her Husky career, averaging 5.4 points and 2.3 rebounds.
Francis was a prized recruit out of Mahnomen. A pure gunner in high school, she amassed well over 2,000 points during her four-year varsity career.
Coach Ulferts has noticed a complete offensive package from Francis.
(Shannon Francis) is very strong with the drive. (Francis is) a great ball handler. She passes very well," Ulferts said. "She needs work defensively, but she is getting there."
Adding depth to the backcourt are 5-foot-9 sophomore Shannon Job (Milbank), 5-foot-10 sophomore Katherine Volk (Sartell), and 5-foot-9 first-year player Laura Legge (Aberdeen, SD).
Outlook
An 8-19 season is never positive, but the Huskies are using last year's losing season to motivate them this year.
"Whenever you get tired in practice, you remember last year," Hansen said. "No one on this team wants to go through that again."
The NCC will be tough. The University of South Dakota is loaded and ranked first in some pre-season polls. South Dakota State is the returning Division II National Champion. The preseason schedule is full of Division II and Division III powers. So can the Huskies surprise some people?
Husky fans will begin to find out Saturday at 6 p.m. when the Huskies begin the 2003-2004 season with a home game against UM-Crookston.
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