Coaches predict improvement

Gonzaga’s first trip to the NCAA tournament completed the grand slam for area Division I women’s basketball teams.

The Bulldogs finally joined Idaho (1985), Eastern Washington (1987) and Washington State (1991) on the ultimate stage.

But only the Zags appear capable of making that trip again anytime soon.

While GU has established itself as the class of the West Coast Conference by winning or sharing three straight titles, EWU, WSU and UI combined for 19 wins – 8-40 in conference play.

The Bulldogs were 13-1 in the WCC, making them 38-4 and 10 games better than anyone else the last three years. They were 24-10 after the 85-46 NCAA loss to Middle Tennessee State.

“I think we have taken the next step,” coach Kelly Graves said. “We’ve gotten better and better talent, we’re more and more athletic with every recruiting class.”

His counterparts expect to be improved next season, but gaining respectability is the next step.

EWU was 10-19 overall, 5-11 in the Big Sky Conference, failing to make the league tournament for the first time in Wendy Schuller’s six seasons. It was the Eagles’ worst record since they were 10-18, 5-10 in league, in 2000-1, Jocelyn Pfeifer’s last year.

WSU was 5-24 overall, 1-17 in the Pac-10, losing its last 18 games. It was its worst since Sherri Murrell’s first season in 2002-03.

Idaho went 4-27, 2-12 in the Western Athletic Conference, by far the worst in Mike Divilibiss’ six years as head coach. UI was 3-22, 2-12 in the Big Sky in 1993-94.

Bulldogs have bite

Gonzaga played North Carolina, Purdue and Arizona State, all Elite Eight teams; Washington and Marquette, which made the NCAA tournament; and Montana and Davidson, which played in the NIT.

Next season UW, Purdue, Marquette and Montana return visits and the Bulldogs play at Tennessee, another Elite Eight team, ASU and Arizona.

“It’s awesome; I’m excited,” Graves said. “I really think we have a chance to be a player. You have to beat some great teams and the thing is we have some good teams at home.”

The Bulldogs graduate two starters in leading scorer and rebounding Stephanie Hawk (14.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Katy Ridenour, who set a league record for games played. The top returnees are WCC Freshman of the Year Heather Bowman (13 ppg, 6.1 rpg), defensive ace Jami Bjorklund, point guards Rachel Kane and Sasha Polischuck and wing Michelle Eliott (9.5 ppg).

Coming off redshirt are Janelle Bekkering (preseason knee injury), Tiffanie Shives (transfer from Michigan State) and Tatriana Lorenzo (knee injury after six games).

Joining the Bulldogs are Kentwood point guard Courtney Vandersloot, considered one of the elite players in the state, and Elaina Renius, a 6-foot-4 post who played two years but elected to play volleyball last fall.

Eagles experienced

Schuller had a short and a long answer for Eastern’s fortunes.

“One thing I know is we’ll be older, that will automatically help us out,” she said. “We just have to be a more disciplined, hard-working team than we were this year.”

Then there are the specifics.

“We have to be better defensively; we weren’t as good as we were in years past,” Schuller said. “Offensively, we have to do a better job shooting the ball. Part of that is becoming better shooters, part is taking better shots. That’s where experience comes into play. We had babies in the post. They had a lot to learn, and they did. You automatically get higher percentage shots when you get the ball in the paint.”

Sydney Benson, a 6-2 sophomore, started every game and averaged 8.9 points and 8.4 rebounds. Nicole Scott, a 6-2 freshman, came on strong to average 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds. Sophomore Katy Baker (7.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg) started 26 games at the wing and showed some explosiveness.

Another positive was freshman point guard Jessica Huntington, who started the last six games.

Joanna Chadd was the only senior starter for the Eagles, but a couple of other players may elect not to return because of injuries or homesickness.

Cougs endured close ones

It’s the kind of “what if’s” that can make a coach crazy and Murrell had more than her share.

“The pivotal time of year was when we won our first (Pac-10) game at Oregon State and six of the next seven games we lost by less than 10 points,” Murrell said. “With a very young team, if we would have won some of those games I believe we would have had that swagger, that confidence we needed in a tough conference.

“It was a really difficult season to not see the wins accumulate. We just didn’t get it done on the floor.”

The Cougars lose all-time leading rebounder Kate Benz and Adrianne Ferguson, who probably would have been a four-year starter if her last two seasons weren’t marred by injury, and have no seniors for next season with Dani Montgomery deciding to concentrate on academics.

Murrell said sophomore guard Katie Appleton is going to be a strong leader.

“She’s wise beyond her years,” the coach said. “She has a lot of trust and commitment from her teammates.”

The surprise was freshman Marisa Stotler, who averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds.

“We’re going to be a year older,” Murrell said. “We have to devote time in the off-season physically and on the court to get better. There was a lot of learning going on this year. I really feel the girls can take the next step forward and apply it.”

Vandals have solid base

Idaho will be better.

“We made the jump in the Big West Conference, we’ll eventually make the jump in the WAC,” Divilbiss said. “That will happen. It’s not a question of if, it’s just when.”

Injuries continue to plague the Vandals, who were basically an eight-player team by season’s end, with no seniors.

Idaho has building blocks. Katie Madison and Charlotte Otero were on the WAC All-Freshmen team.

Madison, a 6-foot post, led the league in scoring (19.1) and was one of the top rebounders (8.9). Otero had 126 assists.

Junior college transfers Sara Dennehy (10.7), who battled injuries all year, and Liz Witte (10.4), were solid on the wings.

“We’ll be better; we’ll be more experienced,” Divilbiss said.

“I hope we can keep everybody healthy,” he said. “I don’t know what’s been our story with that. It seems like ever since I’ve been here we’ve had lots of injuries, things out of our control.

“I don’t know the answer. We work hard in the weight room, doing a lot of the same things we’ve done in the past. My teams healthy for a lot of years, my teams here haven’t been blessed with that.”