10B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BASKETBALL
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4,2002
Newcomers should bring more victories to team
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's basketball team is ready for a new season. There will be eight new players, at least three new starters and one new attitude.
That's good news for a team that suffered through the worst season in the history of Kansas women's basketball. The Jayhawks finished 0-16 in the Big 12 Conference and 5-25 overall last season.
The Jayhawks were in need of a change, and sophomore guard/forward Blair Waltz said that was just what they got. The
youthful jayhawks have a brand new feel, she said.
"This team is so much fun to be with," Waltz said at a press conference. "I look forward to being with these girls everyday. It's a blast."
Waltz is with the girls almost every day.
Starting five days after the end of last season, she and the other returning players headed to the weight room to prepare for this year.
That five-day vacation was the only break the players allowed themselves throughout the entire offseason.
"I mean we made a statement in the KU weight room because
we worked so hard," Waltz said. "And then with the freshmen coming in, it just added that much more intensity, that much more fun."
The influx of new players will be a key to turning the Jayhawks around, coach Marian Washington told reporters.
"We have found ourselves, over the past, able to bring in the kind of players that not only kept us competitive, but kept us one of the top teams in the nation," Washington said. "We have to get back to that, and I think we have got a great start with this young club."
On some teams those sweeping changes in personnel — five
"We have found ourselves, over the past able to bring in the kind of players that not only kept us competitive but kept us one of the top teams in the nation."
Marion Washington Kansas women's basketball coach
returners and eight newcomers could be a cancer on the group's chemistry, but junior guard Leila Menguc said the situation had
been ideal.
"You can tell in practice the way everyone is cheering for each other, pushing each other on," she said. "It's pretty awesome."
But it hasn't been all fun and games for the jayhawks.
Freshman point guard Erica Hallman tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee a week ago, and will be out for at least four weeks.
Hallman, who was selected Miss Kentucky Basketball for the 2001-2002 season,was considered a strong candidate for the starting position at point guard.
When Hallman committed to.
Kansas, it was not a popular decision in her hometown of Covington. Ky., especially during basketball season.
She said that even when the team wasn't doing well and friends were questioning her decision, she had never doubted that Kansas was the place for her.
"It was like there is nothing I can do now, back at home while our season was going on, but I was like I have to make a difference some how." Hallman said about her thoughts during last season.
"I believe in coach and the system," she said.
Cowgirls kick off season
Edited by Matt Norton
By Brian Nachtwey
Daily O'Collegiate via U-wire
Oklahoma State University
STILLWATÉR, Okla. — As Halloween approached, most towns saw a lot more black and orange. At Oklahoma State, those colors are commonplace, and those colors may be all that remains the same from last years' Cowgirl basketball program.
The players are new, the coaches are new and the expectations are new.
The Cowgirls head into the 2002-2003 season with first-year coach Julie Goodenough, Goodenough brings 10 years of experience from NCAA Division III Hardin-Simmons.
coach Amy Gusso.
While at HSU, Goodenough moved the program from NAIA to become an NCAA program and still managed a .777 career win percentage. The only returner on the Cowgirl coaching staff is second-year assistant
"Everything is different," said Oklahoma State starting point guard Chantoya Hawkins. "We got new coaches, a lot of new players and a whole different attitude — there is more enthusiasm this year."
The Cowgirls return four players this season and welcome eight new players. Among the new players include five freshmen and a transfer from Oregon — guard Catherine Turner.
"Over half our players are new," said Cowgirl junior center Trisha Skibbe. "We need to realize that we play in one of the toughest conferences, and we'll adjust well if we do that."
Last year's Cowgirl team went 16-15 and posted a 10-4 mark at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Oklahoma State went 7-9 in Big 12 Conference play, which placed them No.8 in the Big 12.
July 2, Phylesha Whaley was named to the Oklahoma State staff. Whaley was a former Big 12 player of the year for Oklahoma.
Even the program's director of basketball operations is new. On
Out of the players who stayed on the Cowgirls team from last year, three of the four returners are seniors.
Chantoya Hawkins, Thia Willis and Shelby Hutchins all started for the Cowgirls last year. Hawkins finished third on the team in points with an average of 8.4 per game and was first on the team in steals with 47.
Oklahoma. State welcomes back leading scorer and second leading rebounder in junior center Trisha Skibbe.
Skibble averaged 15.6 points and 6.8 boards a game.
With all of these changes, the Cowgirls don't have much time until their first game on Nov. 22, against Oral Roberts and their first exhibition game on 7 p.m. Nov. 6, against TJ Sokol at Gallagher-Iba.
Nebraska women add depth
By Michael Bruntz
Daily Nebraska via U-Wire
University of Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. — At least they have subs.
Fall workouts have yielded three walk-ons for the Nebraska women's basketball team, ensuring Coach Connie Yori won't have to look down her bench at empty chairs when the exhibition season opens Nov. 10.
The Cornhuskers added more backcourt depth with the additions of sophomore guards Jessie Runty and Lacey Hanson. Freshman Kala Sledge will also provide Yori with options at the guard positions.
Yori said having the walk-ons was a necessity based on the status of Nebraska's roster.
"It's not an ideal situation to have five healthy scholarship athletes," Yori said. "It's important that we have walk-ons that may be able to contribute in games."
Headlines had been splashed across newspapers throughout the
state about the team's lack of depth. The publicity caused Sledge and Hanson to contact Yori.
Sledge said the stories had piqued her interest, and she had decided to give Yori a call.
"It was kind of a last minute thing," said Sledge who played at Omaha Westside and had originally planned on going to Iowa Western Community College. "Nebraska was always somewhere I wanted to go, and I always liked Coach Yori, so I couldn't ask for anything more."
Runty's journey to walking on was a little more roundabout.
As a high school senior at Millard North. Runty signed a letter of intent to play with Pacific but ended up not attending the California school.
She enrolled at Nebraska Wesleyan University but didn't play basketball last year. Runty then came to Nebraska this fall and walked on a short time later.
Yori said Runty was a player with the chance to pitch in for the
Yori said Runty would have to wait until second semester before she appeared in games for Nebraska.
Huskers.
Hanson came to the Huskers after having already been on campus for a year. The sophomore from Ralston had hoped to walk on the year before but waited until this year when she contacted Assistant Coach Amy Stephens about a sport.
Because she signed a letter of intent with Pacific, Runty is still in need of a release from her scholarship commitment. NCAA transfer rules will keep her out of Nebraska's early non conference games.
Hanson said she was just happy to be in the program after being away from the court for a year.
"It's been incredible going to the practices and being in the program," Hanson said.
"She is a person who has the potential to help this team," Yori said.
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