Ron McHenry must do more than replace the six seniors he lost from last year’s 29-4 Washburn team.
He must also try to fill the void left by six women whom he lovingly called his daughters.
“We lost some great players, we lost some great people, and we lost some character,” the Washburn coach said. “It will be hard to ever put together that kind of group again.”
Included in that group was Brooke Ubelaker, WU’s leading all-time three-point shooter and third-leading scorer. The first-team All-MIAA selection averaged 15.4 points per game last year.
There also was Cindy Keeley, who was named the MIAA’s Most Valuable defensive player.
Along with Megan Sullivan and Holly Henrichs, the four-year seniors ended their careers with a 122-12 overall record.
“I trusted every one of those kids with anything I had,” McHenry said. “They would never let you down. Their biggest attribute was if they got beat, it hurt them. They never wanted to let anybody down.
“When you’ve got that kind of mentality and that kind of toughness, as a coach, it’s the best thing to have.”
Now, McHenry is starting the rebuilding process with eight new players and only one returning starter.
Second-team All-MIAA forward Amanda Holmes averaged 11.6 points per game a year ago and will lead a relatively inexperienced team.
Corkey Stiger also has stepped into a starting role after posting 13.4 points per contest off the bench last season.
To be successful, McHenry said he would have to get immediate production from his transfer players, which include a pair of junior-college guards.
Janice Bright (5-foot-9, Cincinnati State CC) and Karla Tailele (5-6, Hutchinson CC) have both moved themselves into the starting lineup.
Six-foot-4 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M transfer Regiane Araujo also gives the Lady Blues some much-needed size.
Kalee Silovsky, a Hayden High School graduate, will help WU’s depth after transferring from Division-I Southern Mississippi.
Two-sport star Jessica Mainz returns as a reserve guard, while red-shirt freshman Hope Gregory will have a chance to earn significant minutes.
“I like our talent. I like who we have coming back,” McHenry said, “but right now we’re nowhere close to where we need to be to compete at this level and at this league.”
The progress was especially slow in early-season practices, when McHenry was re-teaching drills on a team with eight newcomers and only six returners.
“I have to be patient,” McHenry said. “I guess I expect kids to know something after one time saying it. That’s not reality. You have to really stay with them. You have to believe in what you have.”
The MIAA coaches still believe that McHenry will have a talented team, as WU was picked second in the conference’s preseason coaches poll behind Emporia State.
Because competing for a league title and national championship are still a ways down the road, McHenry said early on he would be happy with baby steps from his team.
“As of right now, I want us to learn how to play hard and how to compete, because if you don’t do that in this league, you’re in trouble,” he said. “Where that leads us to, I don’t know, but I could take a team that played hard and competed every night.”