KANSAS CITY, MO. — Tradition, coaching and Cassondra Boston.
That was the explanation on Tuesday at MIAA media day for why Emporia State was picked to finish first in the conference by both the media and coaches.
“I was a little surprised, being that we lost a first-team All-American and the league MVP,” ESU coach Brandon Schneider said. “I’d like to think that we’d always be mentioned near the top. I think obviously for us to be picked there, people have a lot of respect for our returning players — Cassondra, Sophia Lenard and Alli Volkens, in particular — and perhaps they even like some of our recruits.”
The Lady Hornets, who are the only preseason Top 25 team in the conference at No. 7, have a lot more uncertainty surrounding their team than last season, when they won the MIAA regular season title and finished 26-6.
The constant for Emporia State through the years has been the return of one of the MIAA’s best players — if not the best. In 2007-08, it was MIAA player of the year Michelle Stueve. Last season, Stueve was gone but Ida Edwards was back, and she won the conference player of the year award.
On Tuesday, Boston, a senior point guard and All-MIAA point guard last season, was the player that every coach in the conference said they were ready to see go.
Boston led ESU in scoring (14.9 points per game), assists (4.3 per game) and 3-pointers made (64) in 2008-09. With Edwards no longer around, the ESU offense will go through her, a role that Edwards assumed from Stueve last year.
Boston will be depended on even more so early in the season with Lenard and Volkens both out with injuries. Lenard, who started all 32 games last year and averaged 11.6 points per game, has still not recovered from knee surgery this summer and she has yet to practice. Volkens, who started 16 games at center, is scheduled to have her knee scoped this Friday and will be out four to six weeks.
“Even when we’re at full strength and healthy, I think there’s no question we were going to be more perimeter-oriented,” Schneider said. “Obviously Cassondra is going to be put in a position to make even more decisions, put in a position to make even more plays, not necessarily always shots, but I think everything she brings to the table.
“She’s going to bring a lot of attention. When people run two or three people at her, she’s got the ability to find the open man and she’s got to rely on some of her teammates to make the open shots.”
The Lady Hornets will also depend heavily on their five key newcomers, which include two junior college transfers in the post and three freshmen perimeter players.
Junior Ashley Ferrell, who transferred from Kilgore Community College, is the leading candidate to start at power forward until the volleyball season ends and Brittney Miller joins the team. Center Negesti Taylor, a transfer from Iowa Western, could fill in at center until Volkens returns.
Freshmen Jocelyn Cummings, Kelsey Newman and Rachel Hanf will battle returning seniors Lacy Corker and Jamie Augustyn for the other two starting spots.
“Right now with kind of our injury situation, all five of them are being counted on heavily,” Schneider said. “We’ve only got nine practicing, so all three freshmen, plus our two junior college players, they’re going to play more minutes than they can probably handle just out of necessity.”
The Lady Hornets were picked above Washburn in both polls, a team that has even more turnover but is also respected because of tradition and coaching.
Emporia State received seven first-place votes in the coaches poll and 15 in the media poll. Washburn received one first-place vote from the coaches and 12 from the media. Pittsburg State, a team that returns one of the top MIAA post players in Nicole McCombs and was third in both polls, took the three remaining first-place votes in the coaches poll and one first-place vote in the media poll.
“I think we deserve to be ranked at the No. 1 spot right now,” Boston said, “and I think we just need to come out and prove that we deserve it.”
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