women’s basketball | 09/10 2009-10 Preview
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we are drake Bulldogs 2009-10 Season Preview The Drake women’s basketball team enters the 2009-10 campaign relying on a balance of experience and youth to propel it to the programs’ sixth Missouri Valley Conference title and 11th NCAA Tournament appearance. “We had a very solid season last year,” said Drake head coach Amy Stephens, who enters her seventh season at the helm. “We lost two starters to knee injuries and were able to have other players step up to the challenge and sustain a good season for us.” Drake finished the non-conference portion of their schedule going 6-3. This was the second time Drake won six non-conference games since the 2001-02 campaign. After a weekend sweep at Indiana State and Illinois State to start the MVC sched-
Valley Conference honoree, Plummer led the team with a 12.8 scoring average, along with 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists. An MVC All-Freshman team selection in 2006, she led Drake in scoring 11 times last season and had double-digit efforts in 23 of the Bulldogs’ 31 games. “It is time for Jordann to step up and be a central leader for the team,” noted Stephens. “She has been leading by example, working very hard this off season at improving her three-point shot and overall ball skills so she can give her game another dimension.” Drake also returns the team’s secondleading scorer in junior guard Kristin Turk, who averaged 10.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game last season and led the team with 42 three pointers.
Junior transfer Ellie Ritscher and freshman Kayla Person will provide depth at the guard spots. Ritscher, a graduate of Benton (Iowa) Community High School, was a two-time NJCAA All-Region 11 selection at Des Moines Area Community College. The Keystone, Iowa, native averaged 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds last season, leading DMACC to a 24-6 record, including a 13-5 mark in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference. “Ellie brings depth to our three-point shooting, which was a focus for our team in the off season,” said Stephens. Person was a four-year starter for Incarnate Word Academy (Mo.) where she was a three-time first-team all-Metro Women’s Athletic Association selection and the
Senior shooting guard Jordann Plummer
Junior shooting guard Kristin Turk
Senior forward Monique’ Jones
ule, the Bulldogs won 10 of the next 11 conference games en route to a thirdplace regular-season league finish. Drake topped UNI in the first round of the State Farm MVC Tournament before falling to Creighton in the semifinals. The Bulldogs return three starters and seven letterwinners to a team that finished 19-12 last season, including a 12-6 MVC mark. Below is a position and schedule breakdown for the 2009-2010 Bulldogs:
Sophomore Brittnye McSparron missed the second half of the season due to a knee injury, is the team’s top returning point guard. She played in 20 games, including six starts and averaged 20.4 minutes, 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
2009 Missouri vs. Illinois All-Star game MVP. “Kayla has a chance to make an immediate impact,” commented Stephens. “She plays the one, two and three and has great quickness.”
Guards Leading the backcourt and the team this season is senior shooting guard Jordann Plummer. A 2009 first-team All-Missouri
After McSparron was injured, Plummer moved to the point and sophomore Amber Wollschlager moved to the off guard position. Wollschlager played in 30 games, starting the final 11 games of the campaign. As a starter, she averaged 9.6 points and recorded six double-digit performances, including a team-leading 18 points in the opening round of the MVC tournament.
Forwards Anchoring the defense is senior Monique’ Jones, the Bulldogs’ three-time team defensive player of the year. “Monique’, along with Jordann, will provide solid senior leadership for our team this season,” said Stephens. Jones appeared in 29 games, averaging 6.9 points and 6.1 rebounds. She ranked
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women’s basketball | 09/10 2009-10 Season Preview second in the league with 3.1 offensive rebounds per game in conference-only games. Jones also helped set the defensive tone for Drake, which held opponents to 56.7 points per outing, the second lowest mark in the MVC. Jones recorded a team-leading six double-doubles over an eight-game span in the second half of the season. Sophomore Rachael Hackbarth appeared in 31 games last season, earning all-MVC freshman team honors. Voted the team’s most improved player, she averaged 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds and had nine double-digit performances, including six in the second half of the season. Redshirt sophomore Morgan Herrick returns to the line-up after a season-ending knee injury sidelined her last year. She played in five games before her injury against Columbia in her first career start.
Naumann was a four-year starter for Totino-Grace (Minn.) High School, averaging 11.8 points and 11.0 rebounds in her senior campaign. She holds school records for single-game rebounds (22), steals (10), season blocks (46) and season points (379). Schechinger averaged 17.4 points and 9.0 rebounds as a senior at IKM-Manning (Iowa) High School. She led the Wolves to the 2009 Class 2A state championship title, receiving all-tournament honors.
Sophomore point guard Brittnye McSparron
Sophomore forward Rachael Hackbarth
Sophomore guard Amber Wollschlager
She averaged 5.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 23.8 minutes before the injury. Providing depth at the forward position are sophomore Alex Montgomery and newcomers Stephanie Running, Lizzi Naumann and Katie Schechinger. Montgomery saw limited playing time last year, appearing in 11 games, averaging 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds. Running is a four-time first-team AllSoutheast Conference selection from Oak Creek (Wis.) High School. The Oak Creek all-time leading rebounder (755) and shot blocker (235), she scored 1,378 career points (second all-time).
went 11-3 last season to improve its overall record in the facility to 169-49 (.775), including 67-25 (.728) under Stephens. The Bulldogs open the season on the road in Kansas City against Summit League tournament runner-up UMKC. Drake then rounds out a home and home series, welcoming Chicago State on Nov. 18, followed by a match-up with NCAA Elite 8 qualifier Iowa State Nov. 22. The Bulldogs take to the road for a twotournament, four-game road swing starting with the Saint Marys Tournament in Moraga, Calif., Nov. 27-28 where they will face host Saint Marys and ArkansasLittle Rock. The demanding road trip ends with the Air Force Tournament in Colorado
The MVC schedule features six games against teams which advanced to postseason play in 2008.
Schedule Drake faces a challenging 29-game schedule with games against seven squads that advanced to postseason play last season, including two that qualified for the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The 2009-10 ledger is highlighted by 15 games in the Knapp Center, where Drake
Springs Dec. 4-5 with match-ups against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and host Air Force Academy. Returning home, Drake plays North Dakota to Des Moines for the first time since the 1975-76 season. The Bulldogs travel to Iowa and welcome first-time opponent New Orleans to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule. “The non-conference schedule is always good for our team to gauge where we stand and to get ready for the Missouri Valley Conference schedule,” said Stephens. “We have back-to-back road tournaments and will face first-time opponents Saint Mary’s, UALR, Air Force and New Orleans, which are all competitive midmajor teams.”
Drake opens the MVC portion of its schedule with a Jan. 1 contest at WNIT semifinalist Illinois State before tangling with Indiana State, Jan. 2. The Bulldogs also will play a pair of conference games against Creighton, a 2008 WNIT participant and 2008 league champion Evansville. The Bulldogs will look to capture their 11th NCAA Tournament berth at the 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Women’s Basketball Championship, hosted at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., March 11-14.
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we are drake Bulldogs
Members of the 2009-10 Drake women’s basketball team are pictured. Standing (left to right) are assistant coach Linda Sayavongchanh, assistant coach Todd Voss, Alex Montgomery, Stephanie Running, Rachael Hackbarth, Katie Schechinger, Lizzi Naumann, assistant coach Allison Pohlman, head coach Amy Stephens and program director Kendra Wilson. In the front row (left to right) are Amber Wollschlager, Kayla Person, Brittnye McSparron, Jordann Plummer, Monique’ Jones, Kristin Turk, Ellie Ritscher and Morgan Herrick.
2009-2010 Numerical Roster
No. 4 12 15 21 22 23 24 30 31 32 34 44 45
Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Previous School) Stephanie Running F/C 6-2 Fr. Oak Creek, Wis. (Oak Creek) Ellie Ritscher G 6-0 Jr. Keystone, Iowa (Des Moines Area Community College) (Benton Community) Rachael Hackbarth F 6-2 So. Colgate, Wis. (Wisconsin Lutheran) Jordann Plummer G 5-6 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. (Cardinal Ritter) Kayla Person G 5-7 Fr. O'Fallon, Mo. (Incarnate Word Academy) Kristin Turk G 5-8 Jr. Des Moines, Iowa (Lincoln) Brittnye McSparron G 5-5 So. Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview) Alex Montgomery F 6-1 So. Cannon Falls, Minn. (Cannon Falls) Lizzi Naumann F 6-2 Fr. Columbia Heights, Minn. (Totino-Grace High School) Katie Schechinger F 6-3 Fr. Manilla, Iowa (IKM-Manning) Amber Wollschlager G 5-11 So. Milbank, S.D. (Milbank) Morgan Herrick F 6-0 RSo. Cedarburg, Wis. (Cedarburg) Monique' Jones F 5-10 Sr. Lee's Summit, Mo. (Lee's Summit North)
2009-2010 Alphabetical Roster
No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Previous School) 15 Rachael Hackbarth F 6-2 So. Colgate, Wis. (Wisconsin Lutheran) 44 Morgan Herrick F 6-0 RSo. Cedarburg, Wis. (Cedarburg) 45 Monique' Jones F 5-10 Sr. Lee's Summit, Mo. (Lee's Summit North) 24 Brittnye McSparron G 5-5 So. Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview) 30 Alex Montgomery F 6-1 So. Cannon Falls, Minn. (Cannon Falls) 31 Lizzi Naumann F 6-2 Fr. Columbia Heights, Minn. (Totino-Grace High School) 22 Kayla Person G 5-7 Fr. O'Fallon, Mo. (Incarnate Word Academy) 21 Jordann Plummer G 5-6 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. (Cardinal Ritter) 12 Ellie Ritscher G 6-0 Jr. Keystone, Iowa (Des Moines Area Community College) (Benton Community) 4 Stephanie Running F/C 6-2 Fr. Oak Creek, Wis. (Oak Creek) 32 Katie Schechinger F 6-3 Fr. Manilla, Iowa (IKM-Manning) 23 Kristin Turk G 5-8 Jr. Des Moines, Iowa (Lincoln) 34 Amber Wollschlager G 5-11 So. Milbank, S.D. (Milbank) Head Coach: Amy Stephens Assistant Coaches: Allison Pohlman, Todd Voss and Linda Sayavongchanh
By Class
Seniors (2): Jordann Plummer, Monique’ Jones Juniors (2): Ellie Ritscher, Kristin Turk Sophomores (5): Rachael Hackbarth, Morgan Herrick, Brittnye McSparron, Alex Montgomery, Amber Wollschlager Freshmen (4): Lizzi Naumann, Kayla Person, Stephanie Running, Katie Schechinger
By Height
6-3 ................... Katie Schechinger 6-2 .................. Rachael Hackbarth ...............................Lizzi Naumann ........................ Stephanie Running 6-1......................Alex Montgomery 6-0......................... Morgan Herrick ..................................Ellie Ritscher 5-11................ Amber Wollschlager 5-10.......................Monique’ Jones 5-8................................Kristin Turk 5-7............................ Kayla Person 5-6..................... Jordann Plummer 5-5...................Brittnye McSparron
Pronunciation Guide Amber Wollschlager.... WOL-SCHLAG-ER
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