It’s a clean slate for the Lawrence University women’s basketball team.
With a new head coach, only three players returning from a season ago and eight newcomers, any memories of the difficult 2010-11 season are fading fast in the rear view mirror.
“We can’t think about what’s happened in the past,” first-year coach Tara Carr said. “You learn from the past and you grow from it but it’s over.
“Because we do have so many new faces we’ve been able to move forward. It’s a new beginning for everyone.”
With a fresh approach, an experienced backcourt and a sizeable group of newcomers, the Vikings are ready to attack the upcoming season, which opens Tuesday when Lawrence hosts UW-Oshkosh.
“I’ve been extremely impressed with how hard they’re working, their attitude and their commitment to the team and ability to bond in such a small time frame,” Carr said.
“These young women have bonded at such an amazing level in such a short period of time. That is exactly what I wanted to create, and I’m amazed at how well we’ve come together.”
Junior Cathy Kaye is the only upperclassman on the squad. She was second on the team in scoring a season ago at 8.4 points per game and was tops in 3-point shooting at 43.5 percent.
Also back are sophomore guards Alex Deshler and Jessica Robbins. Deshler averaged 7.7 points per game and is the top returning rebounder at 6.3 per contest. Robbins played in every game and averaged a modest 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
“We have a lot of depth at the guard position,” Carr said. “A lot of talent, whether it’s driving in the lane or shooting 3s. They’re very versatile.”
New to the mix in the backcourt is sophomore Amber Lisowe, who missed all of last season due to a knee injury, but was named a team captain. She is joined by freshman Chioma Ejimkonye and junior Becca Anderson, who also missed the start of her career due to a knee injury.
The Vikings will be young up front, but the Vikings bring some size and athleticism in freshmen Kassidy Rinehart and Presley Neuman. The Vikings also have more depth and size with freshmen Aubrey Lawlor and Bethany Hoster and junior Gaelen Lombard-Knapp, a softball standout playing her first season of basketball.
The Vikings are finally getting the entire team together after waiting for all the fall sport athletes to join the squad. Neuman played volleyball for the Vikings, and both Rinehart and Kaye ran cross country.
Carr has seen the team make some serious progress during the preseason workouts, but she knows there is work to be done.
“We spent a lot of time shooting the ball. We can’t be last in the conference in shooting. We spent a lot of time working individual skill development and taking care of the ball,” Carr said.
“What I’ve been extremely impressed with as a team is that every time I set expectations in practice, they have met or exceeded it every time. That’s truly amazing because not every team can do that. It says a lot about their talent level, their work ethic and their commitment.”