When the Wisconsin women's basketball team takes the court for its first regular season game Nov. 23, there will be many familiar faces in cardinal and white. One of those will be junior guard Stephanie Rich, Wisconsin's leading scorer last year, 11.6 points per game, and leader in steals, 2.46 per game.
Rich enters this season as one of the four returning starters from last year's squad that did not experience the success in the win column that had been anticipated. However, Rich and the rest of the Badgers are looking forward to a new beginning behind first-year Head Coach Lisa Stone.
Rich was an honorable mention Big Ten selection last season and looks to improve upon her individual performance this season.
\Coach Stone and the rest of the staff have complete confidence in me to shoot the ball when I am open,"" Rich said. ""But away from the scoring, just taking care of the ball and being a better leader on the floor and working hard on defense.""
Rich will have an added responsibility this season, as the Badger back court is extremely thin due to the latest season-ending injury to junior guard Shawna Nichols. Fortunately for the lady Badgers, playing through injuries is nothing new.
Last season Nichols missed games due to injury and both Rich and sophomore guard Ashley Josephson stepped up to fill in at the point guard position at different times throughout the year.
""It was a devastating blow to hear that about Shawna,"" Rich said. ""We are going to be thin in the guard position, but we kinda learned from that last year.""
Nonetheless, Rich's leadership on the floor is what her teammates and coaches point to as her most important characteristic.
""Stephanie is a real leader on the floor,"" senior forward Abby Simmons said. ""She doesn't talk a whole lot on the floor, but just by her actions, I feel like everybody follows her and really looks up to her and tries to copy her.""
For Stone, a former guard herself, being able to coach a player of Rich's ability and determination is an added luxury. Stone already sees Rich as a guard that can do it all.
""Steph leads by example. She is obviously a tremendous shooter,"" Stone said. ""We are going to play her at the point guard. She has great handles and sees the floor well and we are going to look to get her a lot of shots from the point guard position. Steph is just someone that the team can ride. She is our perimeter leader out there and whether she is vocal or not, she makes a big statement by the way she plays out there.""
Rich, on the other hand, does not see herself as a person that is going to get the UW team fired up for a game. Instead, she has a quiet demeanor that allows her to garner the respect and admiration of her teammates.
""I am not going to be a cheerleader for the team, or get someone fired up or jump around a lot,"" Rich said. ""I really want to be a coach, so if I see things I point them out.""
Rich came out and showed that this season would be no different from last year. She wasted little time in Wisconsin's first exhibition game Saturday against Minnesota State-Mankato, as Rich dropped a game-high 29 points on the Mavericks. The Badgers knocked off the Division II opponent as she hit six of 10 three-pointers, grabbed four rebounds and had three steals.
