Lady Hornets hope to hang with Big 12 foe Kansas State in exhibition
By Jesse Newell
Saturday, November 4, 2006
Sure, it won’t count in the record books, and a lot of aspects of the Emporia State offense and defense haven’t been put in yet.
But the question remains: Can the ESU women’s basketball team hang with Kansas State in its preseason opener on Sunday?
It all depends upon whom you ask.
“I’d hate to say that,” ESU coach Brandon Schneider said. “I think they’re obviously a Big 12-caliber team and the defending WNIT champions. I think we go into it thinking in terms of that. We just want to make sure we’re playing extremely hard and trying to make progress.”
Though the focus might be on improvement, ESU forward Michelle Stueve still believed her team could keep things competitive.
“We feel like we can if we do certain things,” Stueve said. “We just have to make sure we rebound really well and get back on defense. We’ll see what happens from there. We should be close or within reach if we do those things.”
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.
ESU more than held its own against KSU last season, taking a 40-38 lead with 9:02 remaining before the Wildcats went on a 10-0 run.
KSU ended up winning the game, 60-46.
“My biggest thing is I hope the things that we have worked on — that we have stressed and emphasized — I hope we do those things well,” Schneider said.
The Wildcats return four starters from a year ago, highlighted by forward Claire Coggins and guard Shalee Lehning.
Coggins is a preseason Big 12 honorable mention selection after scoring 13.5 points per game and shooting 39 percent from three-point range last season.
Lehning has done a little bit of everything for KSU from the point-guard position, averaging 7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game as a freshman a year ago.
“It’s a good test on every spot on the floor, without a doubt,” Schneider said. “We’re outmatched at every position.”
Meanwhile, ESU will counter with four returning starters and 80.1 percent of its scoring from last year’s team.
Leading the charge will be Stueve, who averaged 23.5 points and nine rebounds last season as a sophomore. She also added a game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds against K-State in 2005’s preseason matchup.
She also will be familiar with the setting. As a member of Olpe High School, Stueve played in Bramlage Coliseum during the state tournament in both her junior and senior seasons.
Casey Henningsen (11.8 ppg) will join Stueve in the starting lineup, along with Tegan Stuart (4.3 ppg) and Carolyn Dorsey (5.5 ppg).
Cassondra Boston will also make her first start for the Lady Hornets, taking over at the point-guard position as a true freshman.
“I hope that all of our players go out and do their best to compete, whether somebody’s supposed to be better than you or not,” Schneider said. “I’d like to think we’re not going to take it lying down.”
K-State has won all 10 meetings between the two schools.
Stueve said she was looking forward to competing against new faces.
“It gets tough scrimmaging against each other every day and basically beating up on one another,” Stueve said. “It’ll be nice to get on somebody else.
“We’ve been in practice so long. I feel like we’re ready.”