Women's Basketball Preview - Part 7: UW-Milwaukee
Oct. 26, 2005
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team enters the 2005-06 season with the task of remaining near the top of the Horizon League standings and making a run for its first NCAA Tournament since 2001.
Head coach Sandy Botham will see the face of her team change from last year, with the addition of several key players to an already experienced squad. The incoming players will lend Botham the luxury of depth and talent at a level she has not seen in some time.
"Our depth will be key for us this season," Botham said. "This is deepest rotation we have ever had. We are going to be able to wear some teams out at the end of games."
Last season, Milwaukee featured a guard-oriented attack that led to school records for both three-point attempts and three-pointers made. This season, Botham brought in a five-member freshman class with an average height of six feet that will lend more of an inside presence for the Panthers.
"Our added size will give us a more balanced attack," Botham said. "We've added a legit inside game, that will lend to a legitimate inside/outside attack, something we could not get going last year. We think this approach will be difficult to defend."
UWM enters the season losing five letterwinners and just two starters. Departed seniors include three-year starter Kimberly Becker and power forward Ter Huff. Becker was fifth in the league in rebounding in her final season and ranked third on the team in scoring. Huff, however, shined in her first season as a starter, scoring 10.2 points, grabbing 4.4 rebounds and finishing second on the team with 19 blocked shots.
What UWM does return is 62 percent of its scoring, two all-league honorees and three starters overall. Strong leadership in the form of seniors Nichole Drummond and Molly O'Brien will prove to be an asset for the Panthers this season, as a number of newcomers will vie for a slot in the rotation. Both players earned all-league honors a year ago and were picked to repeat their awards in this year's league preseason polls.
"Nichole and Molly are really entering this season focused and determined. This has been the most vocal they have been since coming here," Botham said. "Both of them have always had high expectations of themselves, but now they are expecting a lot from their teammates. It seems that every year we come up short on our goals, and they just want to get over that."
Drummond led Milwaukee in scoring before suffering a season-ending knee injury at Cleveland State last year. In 23 games, she scored 13.7 points and grabbed 5.6 rebounds per contest on her way to all-league first team status. A guard/forward her first three seasons with the Panthers, Drummond is expected to start the season at the small forward position.
"You could see the difference after we lost Nichole last year," Botham said. "She has established herself as our go-to player and relishes that role. She looks forward to getting back on the court and proving herself."
Meanwhile, O'Brien emerged as an all-around threat on the way to league second team and all-defensive team honors. She led the league with 82 steals and was fourth with seven rebounds per game. The Columbus native, who's steal total was fourth-best in school history, also was fourth on the team with 9.4 points per game.
"Molly is true grit, as well as the heart and soul of our team," Botham said. "She may not always be the most vocal, but she expresses herself and leads through her play and her intensity."
Junior Aubrey Hampton is the team's third and final returning starter. As the team's point guard in 2004-05, Hampton scored just over six points per game and led the team in assists. She was also one of the more consistent three-point shooters on the team, hitting on 37.5 percent of her attempts and leading the team with 36 made. Primarily a point guard in her first two seasons, Hampton saw some time at the shooting guard spot last season and could find a place as an off guard again this season.
Junior Megan Rogers came on late last season and proved herself as the team's go-to player off the bench. Over the last 13 games of the season, she averaged 9.5 points per game and shot 52.2 percent from the field and 41.2 percent on three-pointers. At season's end, she was averaging 6.7 points per contest and 40.4 percent on three's, the third-best percentage in school history.
Another junior that came on strong to finish the season was Kiley Johnson. She worked her way into the starting lineup to close her sophomore campaign and averaged 11.8 points, four rebounds and just under two assists per game in starting the last six contests of the year. Known for her three-point shooting over her first two years, Johnson has sunk 74 in that time and carries a career six point-per-game scoring average into her junior campaign.
Senior Amanda Cook and sophomores Meghan Klein and Elisha Hudson will add experienced depth after combining for six starts last season. Cook saw time in a back-up point guard role, while Klein and Hudson each earned starts late in the season as first-year walk-ons.
Sophomore Dana Schultz missed the entire 2004-05 season with a knee injury after playing 15 games as a true freshman.
"It nice to be getting Dana Schultz back this year," Botham said. "She is coming off a knee injury, so there will be an adjustment period for her, but she will give us more depth inside."
A talented group of newcomers will look to challenge for playing time this season, led by sophomore transfer Meredith Onson. Onson played one season at Boston University after a standout high school career at Oshkosh West. With BU, she played in all 28 games, making 17 starts. She could slip into the starting lineup at point guard this season after averaging 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest and posting a 31/27 assist-to-turnover ratio for the Terriers.
"Meredith brings a lot of things to the basketball court for us," Botham said. "She is very versatile and has a high skill level. She pushed our players in practice for the last year and we look forward to her making an immediate contribution for us on the court this year."
For the second-straight season, Milwaukee enters the year with the loss of its starting center. This year it is the 6-2 Becker and the year before 6-3, two-time League Player of the Year Maria Viall. The challenge is likely to fall to freshman Traci Edwards to fill those shoes. As a senior at Menasha High School, she was named the Fox Valley Conference Co-Player of the Year and earned her second all-state honorable mention award. She also averaged 21.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game as a senior, comparable to her 20-plus points and almost 13 rebound averages as a junior.
"Traci is going to give us size in the middle that we lacked last year," Botham said. "She has very good hands, a nice touch around the basket and she is very athletic for her size. She will help us establish a true inside/outside game. Traci can really score."
Turquoise McCain also follows in the footsteps of a departed letterwinner, making the short trek from nearby Riverside High School to suit up for the Panthers. UWM has had success with former Tigers, as Teri Huff hailed from the school and was a four-year letterwinner. McCain is a proven playmaker, who helped RUHS to the state tournament as a senior and the school's first conference title in over 20 years. She averaged almost 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and over two steals per game in her final season.
Emily Markert from Brookfield East High School will team with McCain to give Botham a pair of talented freshman off guards this season. As a senior last year, Markert was the Metro Conference Player of the Year after averaging 17.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. She added all-state honors to her resume after both her junior and senior campaigns.
"Turquoise and Emily will definitely be able to help us this year," Botham said. "Turquoise adds incredible athleticism for us and has shown she can be a real playmaker. Emily has incredible hands, she keeps her hands high and has nice touch around the basket. She stood out as a force to be reckoned with."
Sophomore Aubri Rote and freshmen Kim Wypiszynski and Katie Fournier will also look to make an impact in their first year in a Panther uniform, while the team's remaining newcomer, Tiffany Morton, was a three-time all-conference player at Beloit Memorial High School.
Rote last played during the 2003-04 season at Division III Lakeland College. She transferred to Milwaukee after garnering Lake Michigan Conference Rookie of the Year honors. At Lakeland, she averaged 14.5 points, 3.9 assists, dished out 51 assists and hit 52 three's to help the Muskies to the NCAA Tournament.
Wypiszynski hails from Ashwaubenon High School, where she helped the team to a top-10 state ranking throughout her senior season. She almost averaged a double-double last season with nearly 14 points and nine rebounds per game.
"Kimberly reminds me of a sophomore with the way she has handled the transition to college so far," Botham said. "She is really fundamental and picks up things quickly. She also has good athleticism."
Fournier was an all-state performer as a prepster in Illinois. Her final season at Moline High School, she led the league in rebounding and was second in scoring with per game norms of nine rebounds and 13 points. She also led the league in rebounding as a junior with 8.6 per game to go along with 14.1 points.
Morton comes to UWM from Beloit Memorial High School via Alabama A&M, where she spent the 2004-05 school year, but did not play basketball. At Memorial, she was a three-time all-league honoree.
2005-06 Schedule
As has become the norm at UWM, the 2005-06 schedule is littered with teams that competed in the post-season last year and hail from major conferences. Home games with NCAA Tournament qualifier DePaul and in-state rival Wisconsin highlight this year's schedule.
Milwaukee hosts DePaul, which finished last season ranked among the top 20 in the nation, Nov. 30 at the Klotsche Center. The Blue Demons made the second round of the NCAA Tourney last season and finished with a 26-4 record. Dec. 14, Wisconsin visits the Klotsche Center for the first time since 2001.
"It's exciting for us and for our fans to have Wisconsin and DePaul at home this season," Botham said. "We want to encourage the fans to come out and see some of the strongest teams in the Midwest."
The Panthers open their regular season Nov. 11 with a trip to Norman, Okla., to take on the Sooners as a part of the Preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament. Oklahoma was one of two non-league opponents to make the NCAA Tournament last season, in addition to two teams that competed in the WNIT. UWM is the first Horizon League team in the event since 1994.
Milwaukee's early-season slate only gets tougher with its home-opener against Oakland (21-8) Nov. 18. Then, UWM hits the road for games at Iowa (22-10) Nov. 20 and Southeast Missouri State (22-8) Nov. 26. The Hawkeyes were ranked much of last season and made it to the semifinals of the WNIT last season.
SEMO comes to the Klotsche Center for the second half of the scheduled home-and-home Dec. 2, before the Panthers head to Brookings, S.D. to take on South Dakota State Dec. 4. SDSU finished its first season in Division I with a 21-7 mark, including 9-4 against D-I foes. The Jacks are also the final of six-straight games for Milwaukee against teams that won 20-or-more games last season.
Heading into the winter break, the Panthers host Division II Northern Michigan Dec. 11. Before the holidays, Milwaukee hosts the Badgers and wraps up the first half of its season against cross-town rival Marquette Dec. 18 at the Al McGuire Center. Milwaukee's final non-league matchup comes Jan. 18 at Northwestern.
"Every year our philosophy remains the same--to be the best, you have to play the best," Botham said. "Another tough schedule will better prepare us for the league season."
Story provided by UW-Milwaukee Office of Sports Information
