MSOE women's basketball 2010-11 season preview
| Published: 11/15/2010 |
|
|
|---|
After two seasons at MSOE, junior Carol Cayo (Lake Mills, Wis./Lake Mills) has already etched her named all over the MSOE women's basketball record book. Cayo was a First Team All-NAC selection last season and named ESPN Academic All-District.
"Carol actually is a game changer," said MSOE head coach Jessica Ott. "She does everything for us from rebounding to scoring to blocking shots to being a leader out there on the floor. She really does everything and it's amazing she does everything. She never really takes a possession off. She just really leads our team."
Cayo stuffs the stat sheet each and every game. Last season in the NAC, Cayo was 13th in scoring (12.8 PPG), first in rebounding (11.0), third in field goal percentage (.494), sixth in steals (2.4) and second in blocked shots (2.8).
Coach Ott has seen Cayo's leadership skills develop in her time at MSOE and is looking forward to watching that process continue.
"She's not exactly vocal but she just shows by example," Ott said. "That's really huge. Our girls really respond to if someone's working hard, they're going to work hard for them. She just really leads by example. She's starting to be more of a vocal leader now since she's a junior so that will be neat to see throughout the season."
The Raiders finished 11-15 overall in 2009-10 with a 9-9 NAC record. Junior guards Marguerite Wellstein (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) and Kathleen Collingbourne (East Dundee, Ill./Dundee-Crown) will also provide leadership and experience to their team.
"I expect those two to really lead our offense," Ott said. "They're both great defenders. They're tough young ladies. I expect them to lead by example as well."
Sophomore forwards Cate Scholfield (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) and Heather Miller (Johnsburg, Ill/Johnsburg) were solid in their first year for MSOE and will counted on even more this season.
"Both of them are very athletic," Ott said. "Heather is extremely athletic. I look for her to score more for us. She didn't do a lot of scoring last year but she knocked a lot of big shots down. Cate is just a tough kid who works hard nonstop and rebounds well. We're going to look for her to score too."
Freshmen on the team include guard Stephanie Haugen (North Aurora, Ill./Rosary) who will play right away for the Raiders along the perimeter.
"Stephanie is going to be a really good shooter for us," Ott said. "We brought her in strictly to be a shooting guard. She will handle the ball a little bit but she can flat out shoot the ball. So we're really looking for that. That will compliment with Carol Cayo inside. Hopefully, she will get some shots off on the perimeter."
Also new to the squad is freshman Shannon Larson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) who will see time down on the post for MSOE.
"She's just a tough kid who is going to rebound," Ott said. "She's going to get some put backs from her toughness. She's a strong, strong kid."
Also new to the team this year is sophomore Courtney Leaf (Andover, Minn./Woodcrest Baptist Academy) who also plays softball for Coach Ott at MSOE and junior Kaylie Lenz (Fennimore, Wis./Fennimore) who is a member of MSOE women's volleyball team.
The Raiders will be tested inside and outside of the NAC during the 2010-11 season. MSOE faces UW-Stevens Point Dec. 19 who is ranked No. 6 by the D3Hoops.com preseason poll.
"We have a tough non-conference schedule which I think will help us when we come into conference play," Ott said.
The Raiders begin their season Nov. 20 against Eureka on the road. The home portion of the schedule starts with a NAC game Dec. 1 against Benedictine at the Kern Center.
