APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s basketball team just endured a season that saw just one mark on the winning side of the ledger.
Normally, that would signal disaster. In this case, the Vikings look at that one win as a seed from which to grow a strong, sustainable program.
“It’s definitely not the result we were all expecting on paper,” said Lawrence coach Ashley Wellman, who just finished her second season with the Vikings. “We made a lot of progress and improvements along the way. Our freshmen got a lot of valuable playing time and their games improved as well.”
Wellman took the court with a group that included three freshmen in the starting lineup on a regular basis. The growing pains were substantial, but the potential is just as great.
“We looked at the little victories along the way, but we didn’t see the results in the win category,” Wellman said.
“In the team aspect, we improved throughout the year in playing as a unit and getting used to playing college basketball. A lot of our freshmen came in and thought it was going to be like high school basketball, and they got a rude awakening.”
Lawrence loses seniors Kassidy Rinehart and Bethany Hoster to graduation, but the Vikings will return nine of their top 10 scorers from next season.
“The three things we were missing coming into this season was leadership, confidence and experience,” Wellman said. “We have all of those things coming back. We just need to work on that confidence level.”
As the Vikings look ahead, they see a bright future built around the talents of current freshmen Danelle Buck and Elizabeth Arco. Buck led the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game and was second on the squad at 5.5 rebounds per game. Arco was second on the team in scoring at 8.7 points per game and averaged a team-high 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per conest.
“Danelle constantly gave us double-digit figures in scoring and rebounding, and she worked her butt off on both ends of the court,” Wellman said. “She has a lot of things to work on, but if her work ethic stays the same, she can be a very good player.”
Buck seemed to grow more confident and comfortable as the season progressed. After returning from a two-game absence due to injury in mid-January, Buck averaged 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds over her final 11 games.
Arco showed just how good she could be against Cornell’s Taylor Dicus, arguably the best post player in the Midwest Conference. Arco scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out three assists while matched up against Dicus. Over her final 11 games, Arco averaged 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
“Seeing that kind of game against Cornell and the potential Liz has, we just need her to do that consistently,” Wellman said. “Once we can get her to play a little more under control, she has the right attitude and work ethic to get there. We are planning to use more of her speed and athleticism in the future.”
Arco’s size (6-foot-1), foot speed and length are a unique combination among post players in NCAA Division III.
“Liz has a huge upside,” Wellman said. “She’s very long and athletic. This year she was trying to adjust to the college game in general.”
Current juniors Patsy Kealey and Andrea Wilkinson and freshman guard Natalie Kramer are the team’s other returning starters. Rookie guards Olivia Hoesley, Nicole Cummins, Fanita Robins and Lauren Deveikis also all saw significant action during the past season.
“We definitely got better in handling and passing the ball as the year went on. Definitely not where we want to be but we improved,” Wellman said.
The players’ decision-making and shot selection improved as well, Wellman added.
“We seemed to get a lot smarter and played within ourselves and got a lot better,” Wellman said.
The biggest issue for the Vikings was consistent scoring. Lawrence was solid defensively, but the Vikings shot just 33.6 percent from the floor and were last in the league in scoring at 45.8 points per game. Lawrence also shot a league-worst 52.5 percent from the foul line.
“Our shooting percentage as a team was not good,” Wellman said. “There were games where we were holding teams under 50 points, which is great at the college level, but we couldn’t score 51.”
Wellman said this off-season will be critical for her returning players. They need to work on their offensive games and free-throw shooting, according to Wellman.
“They need to work on their fundamentals,” Wellman said.
“We need players who can put the ball in hole more. That’s the biggest area of our game where we need to make huge strides this summer.”