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2009-11-21

2009-11-18

2009-11-05

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Friday, October 30, 2009 10:55 PM

Lady Braves bank on experience

By Greg Mast/Herald Sports Editor

The Ottawa University women’s basketball team feels this could be the season to get the Lady Braves back into the thick of the conference race.

The two previous years, the Lady Braves played a bunch of young players and finished with just 16 victories combined in those seasons.

Ottawa is now a seasoned team with eight returners and three starters from last year’s 9-20 squad.

The core group is starting its third year together along with third-year head coach Bruce Tate.

“There is a lot more team unity,” junior guard Emma Hartzler said. “We have trust in each other. We have been through the bad. We are excited to see what happens.”

Tate said the five juniors — the backbone of his first recruiting class — along with the seniors Mallory Mueller and Misty Stone gives Ottawa familiarity on the court.

“This is their time,” Tate said. “That was my plan, to threw them into the fire and get them the experience they needed on the fly. You don’t win championships overnight. We are so far ahead of where we were at this time the past two years.”

The reason for optimism is that Ottawa’s players have logged a lot of minutes together and learned some hard lessons.

Junior guard Kyle Covey can see the difference this year.

“I feel like I am smarter,” Covey said. “I know how to read and react. I know the game better.”

The Lady Braves will live and die with its outside shooting — the strength of the squad. Ottawa’s long-distance shooters include sophomore Paige Gibson, who tied the school record for three-point shooting last year at 45 percent, Maggie Hasenkamp, Hartzler, Covey, Mueller and Taryn Morris.

“We will be able to shoot the ball well [from the outside],” Tate said. “We need that three-point shooting.”

Another factor is that Tate knows his team well and has penciled in a starting lineup.

“That is the first time I have done that,” Tate said. “We have defined roles.”

Tate expects to be deep, especially in the backcourt.

“We have a deep bench as far as guards go,” Hartzler said. “It is a good thing. It makes you more competitive.”

Ottawa has worked hard to improve the defense that surrendered 72 points a game last season. Tate even uses practice time to go over defensive principles without a ball.

“We have spent so much time on it,” Tate said. “We have to play defense to win.”

The coach said a few more keys to success is taking care of the basketball and making shots.

“We are going to be fun to watch,” Covey said. “We are energetic, spunky and have fun.”

Greg Mast can be reached at sports@ottawaherald.com

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Lady Braves bank on experience

By Greg Mast/Herald Sports Editor

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article | Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article |
Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.