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Red Hawks Try To Build On Youth Movement
Last year's Ripon women's basketball was one of the youngest teams in the Midwest Conference even with five seniors leading the way, including four senior starters. With all of those seniors having graduated, the Red Hawks appear to be even younger this year, as they have just two seniors and one junior on a team that finished 9-14 last year, including a 5-11 mark and seventh place finish in the MWC.
The Red Hawks are picked to finish in that same spot this season, as they were voted seventh in the conference's preseason poll. The good news is that most people don't know what to expect out of them because they're so young, which means they could sneak up on some opponents this season.
"We want to improve every day and worry about what we need to do to improve and the wins will come because of that," head basketball coach Julie Johnson said. "If you look at the season as a whole, it can become overwhelming, but if you concentrate on each day individually, the team will focus better, which will make them improve quickly."
Coach Johnson will try to simplify the offense early in the year to help the players understand what is expected of them and the Red Hawks plan on taking things one day at a time in order to be successful.
"Sometimes it's frustrating if you look at the big picture too early, but if you stay focused on the smaller issues and take each day individually, then the big picture will come when they're ready for it," Johnson said. "We'll keep things simple at first. We may not do a lot of different things, but the things that we do, we'll do very well because that's what we've worked on."
Last season, the Red Hawks changed their offensive style to more of a up-tempo scheme, while trying to fit the offense to their personnel. This year, they will still look to push the ball up the floor, but they'll try to pick their spots when they run and take their opportunities as they come.
"We're going to go back to more of a disciplined offense this season. We're going to push the ball up the court, but the players will have more freedom in the half court," Johnson said. "If we can get points off the fast break, that's a definite plus, but with so many young players, our decision making with the ball isn't always the greatest, so we'll have to be smart about it."
Ripon will lean heavily on their two seniors, Christina Schneider (1.7 ppg) and Tiffany Goebel (0.8 ppg), to take on the leadership roles this year. Both Schneider and Goebel will be key components off the bench and will help run the show at the point guard position.
"Both Christina and Tiffany have already played a great role as leaders in the past couple years and have displayed what is expected of a Ripon College women's basketball player," Johnson said. "They've set the tone for the younger players to develop quicker because of what's expected of them and they've helped the team become more focused and team-oriented."
The Red Hawks will look for some scoring to come down low, thanks to junior forward Jeni Yaeger (3.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg), who is coming off a volleyball season that saw her help lead Ripon to a conference tournament berth. She'll hope that success carries over to the hardwood, as the Red Hawks look for their first MWC Tournament berth since the 2005-06 season.
"Jeni is coming off of a pretty successful volleyball season, so there's going to be more expectations of leadership from her. She's a great athlete and will be expected to contribute a lot this season," said Johnson.
This year's team will likely only go as far as the sophomore class will take them, as the second-year players make up half of the team's roster. Jessica DeHamer (7.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.4 apg) will play a vital role on the team again, after leading the team in rebounding as a freshman. She is also the team's top returning scorer from a year ago.
"I expect DeHamer to progress as a player, but in order for her to be successful, it will depend on the other four players on the court at the time," Johnson said. "The other players have to be accountable for their roles in order for her to be successful because this isn't a one person show."
Fellow sophomores Ashley Meister (1.2 ppg, 0.9 rpg) and Carissa Zuercher (2.4 ppg, 0.8 rpg) will both play more of a role this season, and will be counted on to run the offense. Both players have yet to start a game at the collegiate level, but look for that to change, as they'll get plenty of chances to make their mark on this season.
"Meister and Zuercher will see a lot of time at point guard, along with Schneider, so there's that expectation of taking care of the ball and running the offense," Johnson said. "They're still young, so they're going to have to grow up pretty fast."
Amanda Lindauer (5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.7 apg), Ashley Kaminski (1.9 ppg, 0.8 rpg), and Jessica Goudreau (0.9 ppg, 0.5 rpg) are three more sophomores that will be counted on to contribute, despite having nine career starts between them. Lindauer led the team in both field goal percentage (.478) and three-point shooting (.500) last season, while Kaminski was second on the team in three-point shooting, making 41 percent of her shots from beyond the arc. Jana VanHandel (1.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg) and Melissa Balen (Bristol, Wis./Westosha Central) are two more sophomores that will battle for playing time.
"The sophomores are all at similar levels in their knowledge of the game. Although the experience isn't there, their focus is really good this year," Johnson said. "They are a group that will do whatever I ask of them and they don't complain about anything. Their effort has been terrific and I think they can go places, but I can't say who's going to score or do other things at this point because thier talent level is pretty even right now."
With such a young team, the five incoming freshmen will have an opportunity to make an impact right away. They will give the Red Hawks something they lacked and desperately needed last year, which is size. The Red Hawks did not have a single player over 5-10 last season, but this year's freshman class includes two players that stand six feet tall, in Katie Horkan (New Lisbon, Wis./Mauston) and Alison Klekamp (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial).
"Katie and Alison are both still learning the game and will be post players for the most part," Johnson said. "Alison's very physical, while Katie can handle the ball well and is an excellent passer."
The Red Hawks also have a pair of freshman guards that could give opponents problems from the outside. Staci Dieringer (Adell, Wis./Random Lake) and Emily Meyer (Sherwood, Wis./St. Mary's Central) both have great size for guards and can kill opponents from the outside.
"Staci has great size is an excellent outside shooter. She's used to opponents guarding her closely, so she'll adjust well to the college game," Johnson said. "Emily is an inside-outside player that can hit the three and is also a pretty good passer."
Tara Korotka (Manawa, Wis./Little Wolf) is another freshman that will compete for playing time. She is probably the toughest match up for opponents of the five freshmen, due to her size and athleticism. Korotka is another player that will be able to score from both the inside and outside, giving the Red Hawks several options and lineup possibilities.
"Tara is the best athlete in our freshmen class. She can jump well and will create a lot of mismatches because of her athleticism," Johnson said. "All five freshmen have a lot of talent right now, but they'll really cause some problems for opponents as the season progresses and they learn the game a little better."
With so many players having limited game experience, the Red Hawks will take each practice day-by-day and their schedule game-by-game in order to improve. They will open the 2007-08 campaign at the Lakeland College Tournament in Sheboygan, Wis. on November 16th against Northland College (WI), where they'll hope to see their hard work and dedication pay off.
"This is a team that will improve throughout the year and they'll surprise some people because of their team chemistry," Johnson said. "This is a special group and they may accomplish more than what some people are expecting."
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