Article

Something Old, Something New

Women's Basketball Preview

by Tom Froemming
November 03, 2005

With athletes graduating and transferring year in and year out in collegiate athletics, senior leadership is always at a premium.

Despite graduating two key leaders from last year’s team — Kelli Freeman and Hannah Stolba — the 2005-06 Minnesota State women’s basketball squad has no shortage of seniors to able to step into leadership roles.

Centers Arin Andrews and Stacey Duarte, forward Heather Peterson and guard Stacie Johnson will be the on-court leaders for head coach Lori Fish — who is even more prepared to lead her team this season after her campaign season as MSU head coach

“We have outstanding leaders on this team,” Fish said. “It’s great because our team respects them and listens to what they have to say.”

With 11 of 15 All-North Central Conference honorees returning — including All-Americans Lindsey Dietz of Minnesota-Duluth and Erika Quigley St. Cloud State — MSU’s deep roster cluttered with returning contributors may not be as big of a factor as it would have been in years past.

Since each team in the conference should be evenly matched, the Mavericks will need to do the little things like connect on free throws and rebound well to make the difference in games. The team must also protect the ball — which shouldn’t be an issue with the savvy Johnson bringing the ball down. Fellow guard Alanna Wahl has also proven to be sure-handed. The junior ranked sixth in the NCC with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Andrews, a two-time All-NCC selection, led the team in scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg) and is expected to lead the way once again for the Mavs this season.

The key factor to MSU’s potential run at the conference title may end up being its freshman class — which consists of many athletes who participated in multiple sports in high school.

Joanne Noreen and Felicia Foster are just two of MSU’s seven freshmen who compiled impressive resumes in their high school careers.

Noreen, a guard from Avon, Minn., was named all-conference four times, conference MVP twice and was named all-state in her junior and senior season while competing in swimming and softball during the offseason.

Foster, a guard from Pequot Lakes, Minn., compiled 11 varsity letters in basketball, volleyball and track and field. Foster was honored as all-conference four years and all-state twice.

The team will set out to put its youngsters to good use.

“We are going to be a lot more athletic. We can run the floor this year,” Johnson said. “Once we get on the same page, I think we’re going to be fun to watch.”

While MSU is excited and optimistic about its freshman class, it also understands that the newcomers have a learning period to endure — on and off the court.

In order to smooth the rough trail every freshman student-athlete walks, the team got together in the summer to establish chemistry and still enjoys getting together regularly to play the fast-paced word game Catch Phrase.

As for on the court, the upperclassmen are trying to help the newcomers out as much as they can with coach Fish’s more complicated college scheme.

“It’s a different system than most you play in high school,” Andrews said. “I think we’ve tried really hard to help them out.”

The seniors have even become an extension of the coaching staff in practice.

“Since we know what we’re doing, a lot of times they’ll ask us something instead of going to coach Fish,” Peterson said.

The freshman class will more than likely see extensive playing time when MSU plays Gustavus Adolphus in an exhibition game 6 p.m. Friday in the Taylor Center.

5 ON 5 WITH LORI FISH

Tom Froemming: What do you consider the strength of the team?

Lori Fish: Our conditioning. We have a great strength and conditioning coach, and whole staff. I can’t believe the improvement I’ve seen in such a short period of time.

TF: What do you consider a key weakness of the team?

LF: Our commitment to rebounding. That’ll be a focus over the next couple weeks.

TF: Which player do you see having a breakout season?

LF: I’m hoping each one of them steps up and plays a major role. I think that Alanna Wahl came back in great shape and she looks outstanding.

TF: Which freshman is most likely to make an immediate impact?

LF: Right now, Felicia Foster, Joanne Noreen and Alex Andrews, I feel, are probably the most ready to step in right now and contribute.

TF: What does this team need to do to make a run at the NCC championship?

LF: I think team chemistry is going play a big part in how we do this year. The biggest thing is last year we were in so many close ball games and we didn’t always come out on top. But I really think that’s really going to help us for this year because I think we’ll figure out how to win and hopefully we can translate that into more wins.