Portage County Gazette

By John Kemmeter

With a young squad, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) women’s basketball team will look to contend in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and for a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament this season.

After a 14-12 finish last season, the Pointers have 12 underclassmen on their 15-player roster, with five sophomores and seven freshmen.

UWSP opened the season by winning a pair of games at its Tip-Off Classic at the Berg Gymnasium Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17, to start 2-0, and will face a challenge on the road when it plays at fourth-ranked St. Thomas (Minn.) at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25.

“The kids are great to be around, work extremely hard, and are very coachable,” said UWSP women’s basketball head coach Shirley Egner. “But we’re young and we know there’s going to be growing pains and obstacles that we have to overcome.

“And we’re just looking forward to trying to jell this team into a competitive team in the WIAC come January,” she said.

The Pointers lost First Team All-WIAC guard Mickey Roland, Honorable Mention All-WIAC post player Taylor Barrett and guard Lexi Roland from last season’s team that fell 56-53 to UW-Eau Claire in the WIAC Tournament to miss the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

Sophomore 5-8 point guard Brooke Geier (6.7 points per game last season) and 5-10 sophomore post player Kellan Schmidt (4.8 points) both return as starters, while 5-8 junior guard Carly Cerrato (10.5 points per game last season) and 5-11 freshman guard Amber Baehman of Plainfield and Tri-County High School have joined the starting lineup this season.

“Carly has the capability of shooting the ball well, rebounds and plays defense for us,” said Egner. “Brooke led the league in minutes played last year as a freshman, and she has really developed into a good vocal leader out there on the floor.

“Kellan gives us that inside ability to score, plus she can step out and face up, she just really needs to work on making better decisions when she’s handling the ball, but she rebounds well for us,” she said. “And then Amber is a very, very gifted offensive player and she gives us that length and ability to rebound, but she’s also adjusting to the college game, the pace of the game, and the physicality of the game.”

Senior 6-2 post player Olivia Pawlak has also moved into the starting lineup, while 5-10 sophomore Erin Moran, 6-1 sophomore Bailee Collins, 5-11 freshmen Jordyn Ellis and 5-10 freshman Emily Bulthuis will also battle for playing time in the post.

“We’re starting Olivia at the five, and we’re tag-teaming between her, Kellan, Erin and Bailee, and I really think we can get an inside presence there with them” said Egner. “But O gives us some size and some length in there, she has the ability to score, she has the ability to rebound, it’s just being in the moment at all times and being productive when she’s out there on the floor.

“And Erin will give us some really good minutes coming in off the bench in the post,” she said.

Sophomore 5-8 guard Taylor Greenheck saw action off the bench in all 26 games last season and leads the backcourt reserves, along with 5-7 freshman Erin Nyhus, 5-5 senior Caitlin Broberg, 5-8 freshman Jessica Slowik, 5-7 freshman Marissa Delaney and 5-3 freshman Chelsey Van Gompel.

“We’ve seen great improvement from Taylor, she had an outstanding weekend, 26 points and 9-for-11 from the free-throw line,” said Egner. “And then Erin Nyhus is going to be a really nice player for us as she continues to grow and develop into the pace of the college game and what needs to happen out there on the floor.

“I feel like we can play eight solid kids, and then sprinkle one in here or there, depending on their growth and development,” she said.

The Pointers opened this season with an 87-56 win over Dubuque (Iowa) at the UWSP Tip-Off Classic last Friday night, then followed with a 72-69 win over Luther (Iowa) Saturday afternoon, as Schmidt hit a jumper with 4.4 seconds left to break a 69-69 tie and improve the team to 2-0.

UWSP was set to play at Lakeland Tuesday, Nov. 20, and at St. Thomas Sunday, before the team returns home to play Illinois Wesleyan at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3.

The Pointers’ 11-game nonconference schedule will conclude with a trip to Las Vegas for the D3Hoops.com Tournament Dec. 27 and 29, before the WIAC season starts at 21st-ranked UW-Whitewater Jan. 2.

Reigning champion Whitewater was picked to win the WIAC this season by conference coaches and sports information directors, followed by UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh, UW-La Crosse, UWSP, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout and UW-Platteville.

“I don’t mind being the hunter,” said Egner. “We might sneak up on some teams, we might not, but I think any time, regardless, that pre-season poll doesn’t really mean much to us.

“Any time you play a WIAC team, you’ve got to be prepared, or you’re going to come home with a loss,” she said. “And what we’re trying to do with these 11 nonconference games is to really mold our team together, to be the best we can be come Jan. 2 when we open against Whitewater. So we’ll take these nonconference games and hopefully become a better basketball team, ready to fight for a Conference Championship.”

The all-time winningest coach in WIAC history with a 542-241 record in her 30th season as the UWSP head coach, Egner said the goals for the team are the same as always: to try to win the conference, try to win the Conference Tournament, and get into the NCAA Tournament.

“With the schedule that we play and the conference that we play in, if we’re fortunate to enough to get in the NCAA Tournament, it just takes a little bit of luck,” said Egner, who guided the Pointers to the 2002 National Title. “Win six games, and you get to raise the bronze and walnut.

“We’ve got a ways to go, but we’ll work hard,” she said. “They’re a great group of women to be around, love to be coached, and have a really good work ethic.”