Oct. 17, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - As head coach June Olkowski enters her third year at the helm of the Northwestern women's basketball program, she feels her team is poised and ready to take the steps needed to be competitive in the Big Ten conference.
"This team is headed in the right direction," said Olkowski. "If we have the right people step up and lead us, we will surprise a lot of teams."
The 'Cats return four starters and seven letterwinners to a team that consists mainly of underclassmen. Just two seniors have made their way up the ranks, as the team looks for junior guard Emily Butler to be its leader.
"Emily has spent a lot of time in the offseason working on her game, her strength and her quickness, but I think the biggest area that she has improved is her maturity," said Olkowski. "Her ability to communicate with her teammates and lead this team in different facets of the game, not just scoring, will be her biggest improvement."
Butler returns as NU's leading scorer, and Olkowski will look at the guards to do some more scoring.
"Emily has proven she can score in this league," said Olkowski. "But the addition of Anya Walker and Samantha McComb doesn't make us one dimensional. Teams won't focus just on stopping Emily, and that should open things up for everyone."
Butler did lead the team in most offensive categories a year ago, including points per game. She averaged 12.7 points per contest to finish 16th in the conference standings. She also finished second on the team in three-pointers made (28), led the team in field goals (121) and attempted field goals (343), and averaged 32.3 minutes per game. Butler also dished out 103 assists.
Complementing Butler's back court play will be the presence of junior Leslie Dolland in the post. Dolland returns as NU's leading rebounder, pulling down 5.9 caroms a game a year ago.
"Leslie has improved tremendously the last two years," said Olkowski. "We believe she will be a force on the low block and has complemented her defense by adding some additional post moves."
Dolland also will play a major role in the development of two of NU's newest Wildcats, freshmen Sarah Kwasinski and Maria McCarthy.
"Our post play will be young," said Olkowski. "Defensively, they're going to have to be our stoppers from the basket, we need them to rebound so we can run when we want to, and I think they'll make a big impact on the offensive end."
Kwasinski is a highly touted recruit out of Chicago, while McCarthy hails from Wyoming, Ohio.
"Sarah and Maria give us depth in the post," said Olkowski. "They can both play down low and hit the 15-footer if they need to. They also give us another dimension defensively, with their ability to block shots."
With Dolland commanding the post and Butler directing the backcourt, a major question mark in the NU offense and a relative unknown to the Welsh-Ryan floor will make her Wildcat debut when NU takes the floor against Northern Illinois on Nov. 18. Walker, a junior from Beloit, Wis., sat out last season because of turf toe and is excited to get back on the court.
"Anya is a three-point threat, she can knock down the deep ball," said Olkowski. "Even though she sat out a year with an injury, she'll bring some experience to the floor through her junior college play. We believe she has the potential to produce offensively and be a quiet leader, more of a lead-by-example type attitude."
Guard Ashley Messenger, one of only two seniors on the squad, took a nine-day tour of Europe in which she helped the Big Ten women's basketball foreign tour team go a perfect 5-0. The Big Ten outscored its opponents by an average of 38.4 points per contest while Messenger averaged 4.4 points and played in all five games. She averaged 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists a game. For NU, Messenger started 20 games and saw action in all 27. She averaged 3.7 points per game and dished out 40 assists.
"Ashley had a great experience this summer," said Olkowski. "I think she'll relax and play the game and let the game come to her. I think this summer truly helped her, it gave her more confidence in her abilities."
The second of the senior duo, Bill?e Russell, returns for her farewell tour after finishing the 2000-01 season with career high marks in points (4.7) and rebounds (3.1) per game.
"I think Bill?e is the best athlete we have, we want her to go to the basket and get to the glass," said Olkowski. "She can rebound on both ends of the court and can really fill the lane. I'm hoping she plays a bigger role defensively this year."
Junior Nicole Daniels returns to the team after sitting out the majority of the season with a stress fracture in her left foot. She did start 10 of the first 11 games a year ago and averaged 7.3 points per game.
"I'm anxious to see Nicole back out on the floor," said Olkowski. "She has long arms that we will take advantage of defensively and she can rebound on both ends of the floor."
The newest members of the backcourt are freshmen Melissa Culver and McComb. Culver hails from Littleton, Colo., while McComb traveled over from Farmington Hills, Mich., to join the 'Cats. Culver was a four-year letterwinner at Heritage High School, averaging 14 points, four assists and three steals a game.
"Melissa is a complete point guard," said Olkowski. "She has the ability to knock down the open three, but her strength is her ability to change the tempo of a game."
McComb also was a four-year letterwinner and was a three-year captain on her North Farmington High School team. She also received USA Today's All-USA honorable mention accolades.
"Sam can play two positions, the point and the two guard, said Olkowski. "She has great range but her biggest obstacle will be coming back from summer knee surgery."
Returning to the frontcourt at the forward position is junior Natalie Will and sophomore Michelle Zylstra. Will stepped up last year and earned the distinction of becoming the team's best defender. Night in and night out Will would defend the best the Big Ten has to offer. She finished the season with a team-best 44 steals.
"When Natalie decides to defend, she can really be a glove," said Olkowski.
Zylstra stepped in as a freshman and finished third in three-pointers made, knocking down 17 during the season. She saw action in all 27 games and pulled down 106 rebounds, good for third on the team.
"I think Michelle has made the transition from a freshman to a sophomore," said Olkowski. "She is another very intelligent player who understands the game."
Suzanne Morrison is another member of Olkowski's third recruiting class and the second newcomer from Michigan. Morrison is from Franklin and played high school ball at Detroit Country Day. An all-around athlete in prep ranks, Morrison averaged 18 points, 16 rebounds, three steals and two blocks per game her senior year.
"Suzanne has deceptive speed," said Olkowski. "She has a good understanding of the game as a young player and can score in a variety of ways."
The final member of the 2001-02 squad is sophomore transfer Kristin Ambrose. Ambrose comes to Evanston from the University of Virginia, where she appeared in six games, averaging 3.0 minutes a contest. Due to NCAA transfer rules, Ambrose has to sit out the entire season before she is eligible to compete.
"Kristin has NCAA postseason experience," said Olkowski. "She'll really test us at practice this year and she's dedicated to not only making herself better but our team better."
In all, NU welcomes six new players to the roster. Couple that with a solid core of returning starters and the NU women's basketball team seems to be headed in the right direction.
"Our team still needs to find itself, but this team took the right steps in the offseason and came back with a wining attitude," said Olkowski. "They are taking the right steps to be competitive in the Big Ten."