Freshmen play key role for women's hoops

By Blake Twisselman

After a disappointing preseason, the Santa Clara women's basketball team is looking forward to a new beginning in conference action.

The Broncos battled through injuries and inexperience as they stumbled through a six-game non-conference losing streak earlier in the season, but the team is starting to come together as they approach the second week of conference games. This year's team is the youngest it has been in recent years: a collection of seven freshmen, one sophomore, three juniors, and two seniors. The vast number of freshmen meant that Santa Clara had to start many players who weren't yet accustomed to the speed of the college game.

"At one point we were starting four freshmen," Head Coach Michelle Bento said.

Santa Clara's youth and inexperience was evident as the Broncos fought through their challenging non-conference schedule, but the team has matured throughout the season as many players have gained valuable game experience.

In addition to the team's youth, the Broncos have also suffered through a rash of injuries, which have prevented the team from reaching its full potential.

Many times, teams will suffer a devastating injury or two, but this squad has more closely resembled a MASH unit at times than a basketball team. The team was forced to play many of its younger players sooner and more often than expected due to the injuries.

"Unfortunately, injuries are a part of athletics," Bento said. "But this year it's just been one injury after another."

Freshman post player Jenni Gottschalk suffered a stress fracture in her foot that caused her to miss the majority of the games early in the season, and junior guard Michelle Cozad went down recently with a similar stress fracture injury that will cause her to miss considerable playing time as well.

Junior guard Quinn Thomas has played brilliantly this season, despite a nagging back injury that has required daily rehabilitation throughout the season. Thomas is one of the many players on the team who have endured and played through minor injuries that have caused players to limit their intensity during practices.

"The injuries have been kinda rough on the team because we haven't had a full bench so we can sub people in and out as much," Thomas said. "It's not exactly the best situation, but we're dealing with it."

Without a doubt, the Broncos' most devastating injury-related void is due to the absence of their first-team West Coast Conference guard Kayla Huss. The All-WCC point guard experienced some severe back pain last winter, but managed to play through the discomfort and finish the conference tournament.

Huss received some discouraging news in the offseason when an MRI revealed that she had suffered a herniated disc that would force her to miss the entire 2003-2004 season. Huss, who led the conference in assists last season, will be missed for her experience and leadership as well as her scoring and point guard abilities.

"It's been really frustrating at times, but it's also been a big learning experience," Huss said. "I'm learning that there's a lot more to life than just basketball, but it's still rough during game time because I want to be out there to help the team."

Fortunately for the Broncos, Huss received a medical redshirt and will retain her junior status when the team takes the floor next season.

"Obviously it wasn't good for the team when Kayla got hurt," Head Coach Bento said. "She's our point guard, she's the quarterback out there running the offense. But freshman Ashley [Graham] has done a tremendous job out there, she's shown a lot of growth in running our up tempo offense."

Added Graham, "I think it's been tough for all of us freshmen. We've really had to come in and contribute right away, but I think it will benefit the team in the future."

With all of the uncertainty due to the team's inexperience and injuries, the only thing that seems to be certain for the Santa Clara women's basketball team is that the race for the conference title should be wide open this season. Pepperdine, the winners of the last two conference championships, graduated some key players and opened up the 2003-2004 conference schedule with losses against Portland and Gonzaga. The Bulldogs may be the new favorites in the WCC after crushing Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

"To be very honest, I don't know how we'll do in conference," Bento explained. "Our motto is to 'improve every day.' We've made some great strides but we still have a long way to go."

Santa Clara's challenging non-conference schedule may give them the edge on their WCC foes. The youthful Broncos have been steadily improving in each game, as different players have stepped up to make contributions for the team.

The Broncos opened up conference play last Saturday with a one-point victory against San Francisco, which knocked off Santa Clara at Leavey last season, and returned almost everyone from last year's squad.

Bronco fans can hope that the victory against San Francisco was an indicator of the team's progress, and a sign of good things to come in WCC play.

"It was definitely a great win for us on the road against a very good team," Bento said. "We gained a lot of confidence and hopefully we can carry that confidence through the rest of the conference season."

Contact Blake Twisselman at (408) 554-4852 or at jtwisselman@scu.edu.