The Johnsonian

Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: Sports

Head Coach Bud Childers talked to the media last Thursday, revealing that he believes this year will be a breakout year.

The women's basketball team is back and ready for what is believed to be a promising year.

After last year's disappointing 6-26 season, the Lady Eagles were motivated to improve in the off-season and most of the team decided to stay in town to prepare.

"We weathered the storm and came in better towards the end of the season (last year)," Head Coach Bud Childers said. "Just the thought of us competing and erasing the memory of that experience is good motivation."

Yvonne Van Daalen, a junior from The Netherlands, is one of many team captains on the team who does not want any part of the experience from last year to ever happen again.

"Everyone was very disappointed last year," van Daalen said. "It was just nothing that we ever expected to happen. Nobody wants to go through a year like that again. We made ourselves ready for this season because it can never happen again. This year is going to be so much better. I can just feel it."

Coach Childers has high expectations for his squad this year in having a breakout year.

"We expect to be very competitive," Childers said. "We're talking about competing all the way to the championship. We feel we got a good core of returning players; we feel like we've added some new players and filled some of the holes we had last year."

In the Big South preseason poll, the Eagles were picked to finish fifth behind the favored Radford Highlanders, Liberty, UNC Asheville and High Point.

"I would probably agree that we are a little bit of an unknown commodity," Childers said. "I think we got good enough players where we can have a breakout season."

This year there are seven juniors and no seniors and Childers looks to them to carry the team. They include van Daalan, Franchesca Davenport, Tiffany Rodd, Ashley Fann and Ashley Haugtvedt.

There are four sophomores: Jessica Fansler, Kathi Ryska, Shanice Cole and red-shirt Shelly Hankins.

Childers was busy during the off-season not only preparing his team for the year but also bringing a handful of newcomers to help turn things around, and he believes they have a lot of potential. Newcomers are freshman Ashley Cox, who Childers says will be a threat from the perimeter, Asha Gwynn, who Childers says is a power-forward in the making, and Sarah Scott. Childers also brought in junior-college transfers Jennifer Walker and Kayler McBride.

Even though all five returning starters are back from last year - van Daalen (6.8 points per game), Davenport (5.8 ppg), Rodd (10.8 ppg), Hankins (5.1 ppg) and Big South preseason All-Conference selection Fann (12.2 ppg), Coach Childers says the roster is not set in stone.

The Lady Eagles hope to right the ship and get back on track.

Look for a more experienced team on the court this year as the team aims to be a contender in the Big South.

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