The Lisa Stone era enters its second year and the Badgers are eager to improve on last season's 10-17 record. Head Coach Stone and the rest of the UW women's basketball team are confident that with a year of experience adjusting to each other, a talented freshman class will bode well when the regular season kicks off Nov. 19 against IUPUI.
\The experience gives us more confidence and with all the new players that we brought in this year, we know that as upperclassman, we need to step up and show them that the Big Ten is a tough conference and hopefully we are making each other better,"" junior guard Ashley Josephson said.
As important as the confidence is for a team looking to rejoin the ranks of the Big Ten's best, there may be something even more important to this squad: team unity. Although six freshman make up the roster, the team is far more comfortable with each other and with Coach Stone than they where 12 months ago.
""I think our team has already gelled together real well on the court,"" Josephson said. ""Last year we were struggling to pick up our offense and things like that, but this year we picked up on it faster.""
For the returning members of the women's basketball team, the year they have under their belt with Stone is the reason behind the early season successes. This remains true especially for the two returning guards, Josephson and co-captain Stephanie Rich.
""It makes it easier on the court just knowing what Coach Stone expects this year and the rest of the coaching staff and knowing that I have to be a coach on the floor especially if the younger girls are going to play,"" Rich said.
""Having Coach Stone here, we know how she likes to run practices,"" Josephson said. ""We know how intense she is and so we just have more confidence in our game, it just helps us out a lot.""
Stone maintains the transition the women on the UW team experience is a testament to the attitude and dedication this group of Badgers possesses. She said she knows that without a group that was open to change, the team would have accomplished very little last season and be nowhere near the level they are at currently.
""I am thankful that I inherited a team that believed in my vision and everybody is as excited about the freshman as I am,"" Stone said. ""But you certainly can't forget about the returning six that have embraced my vision and where we want to go with the program, and they are ready to blend their experience with the new freshman.""
The six returning upperclassmen are well-aware that their experience under Stone will help them to incorporate the promising freshman class into the UW system.
The Badgers were forced to learn a different system last season under Stone and were hurt further in the recruiting process because of the departure of former Head Coach Jane Albright. Although the Badgers struggled to a 4-12 Big Ten record, this season will provide a different opportunity, one where coaches and players alike will once again be familiar with each other. Stone knows that the familiarity she has with senior co-captain and starting point guard Stephanie Rich will play a huge role for UW.
""[Stef] has helped a ton; she has been my point guard and I think there is some special bond there, and I think at times she is able to anticipate what I am going to do and I like that to a certain extent,"" Stone said.
