On Nov. 9, the NSU women’s basketball team will start its season at home in the Arena in the Don Taft University Center against Washburn University.
The team learned a lot from last year’s run to the Elite-8 and because of that finish, this season’s expectations are greater than ever. At the conclusion of the tournament, NSU finished ranked 12th in the national polls, the highest the team has ever reached — until the 2013/2014 preseason where NSU will begin the season ranked fourth in the USA Today Sports Division II Preseason Coaches’ Poll. It will take more than early potential to get the team to where it wants to go: to play in a national championship.
Richelle Carach, senior marketing major and forward for the team, said, “We learned what it takes, the determination you need, the discipline; it’s definitely a process.”
LeAnn Freeland, entering her third season as head coach, added, “We learned how good this program can be and it has a lot of potential. It’s not easy, so we need to remember what it took to get there.”
It is going to take a total team effort for the student-athletes to repeat the success from a year ago and go beyond the expectations set out for them. The five returning seniors will play a major role in leading this team to victory. The return of Jasmine Wilkins, senior forward, from a major injury that kept her out all of last season will be a tremendous boost for the team. She was an important contributor the two previous years she played. The other seniors, Amanda Burakoski, Julia Salmio, Jessica Russi and Carach, will all look to step up and be influential voices of the team.
Carach said, “I want to be a leader. I’m a positive influence and I lead by example, but I do need to be more vocal.”
Freeland is also looking for her seniors to step up into new roles, something they may not necessarily be comfortable with at the start.
“We challenged Russi to take more shots. She’s always been more of a distributor, but we need the returners to provide that production in all avenues of the game.” said Freeland.
The biggest name on the team is junior guard Danielle Robinson. Selected as a preseason honorable mention All-American, she has her own expectations to live up to. At the conclusion of last season, Robinson was named SSC Co-Defensive player and ranked at the top of all major categories for her team. She set career highs in points (28), rebounds (14), steals (7) and assists (6) during games last season. She was the second leading scorer for NSU but with the leading scorer gone this year, Robinson will look to be the main offensive threat.
Freeland said, “Danielle is by far the most competitive player on the team. She provides that grit, determination and focus we need, and to have her on the team is priceless. We expect big things from her.”
There are still some aspects of the game that both the head coach and players agree need to be worked on to improve the team this year. Offense isn’t the problem for this team though; the concerns lie with the rebounding efforts and the total team defense.
“We want to improve our rebounding and overall defense. Defensive efforts could have been more consistent. We are looking to make adjustments to be a stronger unit every game,” said Freeland.
The players are taking responsibility for what they need to get better at individually.
Carach said, “I see myself as a rebounder, but I know I need to improve on that even more.”
The early and high hopes are nothing for the NSU Women’s Basketball team to be too worried about. It’s going to be a long season but there is always a silver lining to those expectations. They would like to get off to a fast start but know it isn’t pivotal to their overall success.
Carach said, “We need to start the season composed and strong. It’s a big thing to be the hunted instead of hunting,”
The team won’t let the weight of the high expectations become too unbearable.
Freeland said, “Our goal is to get better everyday. The most pressure we put on ourselves. I don’t think the preseason ranking adds any pressure.”
With the talent of this year’s team and the support of the NSU community, there is no telling where the Sharks can finish their season.
“Our goal every year will be a national championship, but if we don’t achieve that I won’t see it as a disappointment,” said Freeland.
