Lady Quakers poised to make another Championship run

Experience paces Lady Quakers

Wilmington College head coach Jerry Scheve knows there are no shortcuts to championships. "Play hard and get better every day" is the echoing theme that has helped Scheve¹s teams win an NCAA Division III national championship and conference titles six of the last seven years.

"This is my 16th year here and our goal is to win a national championship," Scheve said. "That¹s our goal every year, and probably 13 or 14 of those years it was a realistic possibility. The only way it¹s going to happen is if our players come out, work hard and get better every day. If they do, then we¹re going to have a chance to do some special things. There¹s no one thing or one person that has to really step up; it has to be a team effort."

Another familiar theme for the Lady Quakers is filling the void created by a graduated All-American. In 2003-04, WC responded to the departure of All-American Megan Woodruff by winning a national championship. In 2004-05, the Lady Quakers, minus graduated All-American Tara Rausch, put together a 23-5 record and won the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title. One of the primary challenges for the 2005-06 team will be getting the job done in the absence of All-American Siobhan Zerilla, WC¹s all-time leading rebounder (1,330) and 10th all-time scorer (1,188).

"We don¹t talk about individual goals with our players," Scheve said. "We tell our players they need to set individual goals highly for themselves. Those three were great players, but the easiest way to become an All-American is to be on a very successful team. We wouldn¹t have had three All-Americans the last three years if we¹d have been 10-15. I don¹t think you look at all to say, ŒHow do you fill the void?¹ We¹ve got kids that are already here that are ready to step in and step up."

A second step in, step up opportunity was presented by a preseason knee injury that will sideline senior guard Courtney Balser this season. Balser was the Lady Quakers¹ leading scorer (12 points per game) and third leading rebounder (4.8 per game) in 2004-05.

Scheve and his players apparently aren¹t the only people convinced that WC will respond to the challenges ­ the Lady Quakers enter the season with a #12 national ranking by DIII News.

Providing leadership for Wilmington will be the talented and experienced backcourt tandem of co-captains Shawna Thomas and Sam Hood. Both played integral roles in the Lady Quakers¹ national championship journey and had strong seasons last year.

"Shawna is a senior now and has always been a good role player," Scheve said. "She has a full understanding of what we¹re trying to do and should have her best year as a senior."

Hood, a junior point guard, has started in 61 consecutive games for Wilmington. An All-OAC Honorable Mention performer last season, Hood has handed out 269 assists in her first two years at WC, placing her fifth on the Lady Quakers¹ all-time list.

"Sam¹s been a great leader for us since the day she got here; now she¹s one of our captains," Scheve said. "She had a solid season for us last year, but if you were to ask her, my guess is she would say she was disappointed in her season. She¹s really worked hard on her shooting in the off-season. Last summer, she played in Italy during our team trip and also played in Europe with an all-star team."

Sophomore Katie Streck is the team¹s top returning scorer and rebounder. Despite nagging injuries, Streck averaged 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season and was selected All-OAC Honorable Mention. She led WC regulars in field goal percentage (55 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (46 percent).

"Katie just has a great knowledge of the game and a great feel for how the game is played," Scheve said. "There¹s not a lot of things that we need to teach her, particularly on the offensive end of the floor."

A key player during WC¹s 2003-04 national championship season, junior wing Erica Smith comes off an injury-plagued sophomore year that saw her average 8.6 points per game and connect on a team-leading 40 three-pointers.

"Erica¹s a 5-10 wing that can shoot, put the ball on the floor and score off the dribble, and play solid defense," Scheve said. "She can be as good as any wing in the league, if she¹s healthy."

After averaging six points and 4.5 rebounds per game last season, junior Kelly Peters appears poised to continue WC¹s tradition of outstanding post players.

"She¹s a big key to this team. About midway through the season we started bringing Kelly off the bench, and it seemed like she just really got more comfortable and played very well the second half of the season," Scheve said. "I really think she¹s going to step right in at the post."

Wilmington¹s deep junior class also includes post players Kara Robinson and Abby Newhouse, forward Katie Newman and guard Amy Eichner. Robinson, who played big minutes during WC¹s national championship run, averaged 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last season. Newhouse is a strong post defender and Newman was solid off the bench in the Lady Quakers¹ push to the OAC regular season title a season ago. Eichner, like her six classmates, has been through the grind of back-to-back championship seasons and has the experience that can only be provided by playing in big games.

"We¹re certainly counting on that experience," Scheve said. "We had six freshmen play in the national championship game. Those kids are juniors, but I think those juniors need to play like seniors this year for us to be successful. With all the big-game experience they¹ve had, I think they¹ll do that."

Point guard Anne Haky returns after an impressive freshman season. Haky, who speeds up the game off the bench, played in all 28 games and dished out 82 assists. Sophomore Jackie Hauke is a three-point threat off the bench while sophomore Amy Starks is a promising post player. Gina Hyle returns for her second season at the guard position.

The freshmen contingent of Chassidy Faucett, Natasha Huckleby, Amberly Conklin, Kellyn Tisci, Shelly Warner and Shana Martin is an athletic group that comes from good high school programs.

The Lady Quakers¹ schedule is arguably the toughest in Wilmington College history, featuring non-conference games with Great Lakes Region powers Hope College (23-4 last season, #19 preseason ranking), Wittenberg University (17-10 last season) and a possible Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament championship game encounter with 2004-05 National Tournament qualifier DePauw University.

"We¹re playing all in-region games and we¹re playing what I think are going to be the best teams in the region," Scheve said. "We play that kind of schedule for two reasons: number one, we want to; and number two, we don¹t have much of a choice right now. There¹s only certain teams that want to play against us. When you get a national reputation, those good teams want to play you, and you want to play them."

On Dec. 3, Wilmington hosts John Carroll to open the arduous 18-game OAC regular season. Defending regular season co-champion and OAC Tournament champion Baldwin-Wallace enters the season with a #4 national ranking, while Capital is #8. In the OAC Preseason Coaches Poll, Wilmington was tabbed to finish fourth behind Baldwin-Wallace, Capital and Otterbein.

"Those top teams coming back from last year ­ BW, Capital and Otterbein ­ all return basically their entire teams," Scheve said. "We really are the only one of those four teams that had any significant losses due to graduation. It¹s going to be tough, not only against those teams, but everyone in this league is always tough."