All the pieces are there for Wisconsin women's basketball Head Coach Jane Albright, and now it's just a matter of putting them all together.
UW is coming off an up-and- down season which saw the Badgers win 16 of their first 17 games and earning a No. 5 ranking in the nation. After this, the team lost 11 of its final 14 games and ended the season with a 19-12 record and a first-round exit in the NCAA tournament.
This season will reveal many new players, since the team's top three scorers from last year have graduated. Albright believes that even though there are many new faces, the Badgers can still rely on three key seniors to provide leadership and experience.
\I definitely look to the seniors to bring leadership and they've done it in every way starting last spring actually,"" Albright said. ""They've done a very good job of that.""
Senior forward Kristi Seeger is one of the Badgers' two returning starters and will be looking to provide some of the scoring lost by last year's graduates. Albright also said she expects a big impact from senior guard Leah Hefte.
""Leah has really improved from last year's team and I really think she has logged in a lot of minutes,"" Albright said.
The final senior on the UW squad is guard Jessica Liegel, who hopes to bring leadership to the underclassman on the team.
""The freshmen coming in are always intimidated by everyone so we just try to make their day go a little easier 'cause we know we were there at one point,"" Liegel said.
The other returning starter to this team is junior center Emily Ashbaugh, who was the team's fourth-leading scorer last year at 6.7 points per game. Albright will look to Ashbaugh to score from the block and provide defense down low. A strength of the offense is their interior where they are blessed with height that few teams can defend. The 6'5' Ashbaugh will be joined by 6'7' junior center Lello Gebisa, who transferred from Duke. Lello is the sister of fellow UW sophomore forward Ebba Gebisa who will also be looked upon to score points this year.
Senior Candace Smith put up impressive numbers last season but could not meet the academic requirements and was forced to leave the team. Another guard who did not receive much playing time last year but will be a major staple in this year's team is sophomore guard Stephanie Rich. Rich and Hefte are three point threats and will hopefully open things up for the players in the post.
""I think Stephanie has really improved from night and day and she's a lot stronger with the ball and her scoring touch is better,"" Albright said.
The freshman crop this year looks to be very promising, as guards Kjersten Bakke, Ashley Josephson and Erin Olson will be joined by forwards Jordan Wilson and Annie Nelson to round out this year's recruiting class.
Josephson is an AAU all-American point guard who will be looked upon to take care of the ball and start the offense.
""I think Ashley will be an immediate impact because she's very heady. She's very unselfish, but one of the best things she does is make good decisions,"" Albright said.
In only eight years of being the UW head coach, Albright has become the winningest coach in the history of Wisconsin women's basketball. Albright has led her teams to eight consecutive winning seasons, a school record, and seven postseason appearances. In 1999, Albright led UW to the WNIT championship, the Badgers' first major basketball title.
While there is no clear-cut starting lineup at this point, it seems as though the main strength of this team is their height and ability to play as a team.
""I think we have great team chemistry both on and off the court that is really going to help us in our game situations,"" Hefte said. ""Obviously we have a lot to learn both defensively and offensively but that will start to come together I think once we start to play some games.""
Those games begin Nov. 10 against Wisconsin AAU Select and Nov. 14 versus Brazil. Both are exhibition games and will be held at the Kohl Center. Tip off for Wisconsin AAU is 1:30 p.m.
