APPLETON, Wis. — Please forgive Lawrence University women’s basketball coach Ashley Wellman if Tuesday’s season opener isn’t the first thing on her mind these days.
As much as she’s concerned how her Vikings will fare at Marian University, her first thought next week will be delivering her first child, who is due Monday.
“We’re honestly playing things by ear,” said Wellman, who begins her third season on the Lawrence bench. “The preseason hasn’t been affected too much. The assistants have been awesome. They take over when I tell them I can’t do this or that.”
Assistant coaches Barry Harris and Alex Deshler will lead the team through games until Wellman returns.
“Our team is like a giant family so the players and parents know I want to be back, but they’re all prepared for it,” Wellman said.
The Vikings are looking for a substantial improvement after winning just one game a season ago. Lawrence returns three starters and multiple other key players from last year’s squad.
Sophomore forward Liz Arco leads the returning players after averaging 8.7 points, a team-best 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game as a rookie.
“We are going to use Liz’s athleticism in our offense so she can get to the basket and get to the foul line,” Wellman said.
The Vikings also return senior forward Andrea Wilkinson and sophomore guard Natalie Kramer to the starting lineup. Two other players who started multiple games last season, senior forward Patsy Kealey and sophomore guard Olivia Hoesley, also return. Kealey recently started practice after having a stellar season in goal for the Lawrence women’s soccer team.
“(Kealey and Wilkinson) will be out there a lot this year,” Wellman said. “Andrea’s been a returning starter for three years, and she will be expected to step up more this year in terms of scoring and rebounding.”
The Vikings also have a trio of sophomore guards, Fanita Robins, Nicole Cummins and Lauren Deveikis, ready to expand their roles.
“I feel as though we have 10 upperclassmen that all have game experience. That is going to be something that will help get us over the hump,” Wellman said. “We were missing experience, confidence and leadership. I feel as though we have all of those.”
The Vikings have four newcomers, junior transfer Aubrey Scott from UW-La Crosse, rookies Sammi Jo Nixon and Leah Reeves and sophomore Arianna Cohen, who will see action immediately. Scott is a former standout at Appleton East High School who played two seasons at La Crosse.
After winning just one game a season ago and seeing four or five freshmen on the court at once, Wellman believes the lessons learned from that difficult season should pay dividends now.
“Moral victories are a thing of the past hopefully. We are returning a lot of experience. We only have two true freshman who will be on the court for us,” Wellman said.
“That group of sophomores will be the ones who see us over the hump. Our two seniors are the leaders, and they are doing a great job of guiding us through things and having everyone on the same page.”