Women's basketball opens season at crossover tournament

SAULT STE. MARIE - Graduating the league's most-dominating combination of post players and returning a squad absent of seniors leaves the Lake Superior State women's basketball team with obvious concerns. In contrast, the guard-dominated junior class has amassed enough playing time and experience to understand what the Lakers need in order to hold their own in the grueling Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division. 

LSSU opens the 2009-10 season at the GLIAC vs. Great Lakes Valley Conference Crossover Tournament Dec. 27-28 in Indianapolis. The Lakers play Illinois-Springfield (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Indianapolis (2-0) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Laker juniors Emily Joseph and Ronlea Peterson are third-year starters who averaged 9.9 points and 8.1 points per game, respectively, last season. Joseph also totaled 140 assists and ranked fourth in the GLIAC in average assists per game (4.5). Peterson ranked 11th in the GLIAC in defensive rebounding (4.4 drpg/5.3 rpg overall), and 15th in steals (1.6 spg) and three-point field goals per game (1.5).

"Emily had a great summer, and playing all the minutes she has the last two seasons, she has learned a lot," LSSU fourth-year head coach Jamie Pewinski said. "In our system, she handles the ball a lot, which allows her to make plays for herself and her teammates. For the most part, Emily and Ronlea are our point guards. While they spend a lot of time on the floor together, Emily will have plenty of minutes as the lone point guard on the floor. Ronlea has shown signs of finally being healthy, which hasn't been the case since late in her freshman season. When she is healthy, she is a difference maker on both ends of the floor for us. This season we will look to take advantage of her athleticism by allowing her to get out in the open floor a little more and not have to bring the ball up every possession. We will definitely need her to continue being a defensive leader for us."

Junior Nicole Marshall is a shooting guard who averaged 9.5 points per game last season. She started 14 games, while junior guard Shelle Rochon earned five starts, and junior forward Allison Jaynes picked up 16 starts. Marshall ranked 14th in the GLIAC in average three-point field goals per game (1.5), while Rochon was third in three-point field-goal percentage (.439). Rochon scored in double figures against five GLIAC opponents in 2008-09, including a season-high 21 points against Grand Valley State. Jaynes chipped in 3.6 points per game.

"Coley (Marshall) has probably improved as much as anyone over the summer," Pewinski said. "She learned so much last year by staying healthy and being able to compete the entire season. Her confidence is high, and she is ready to take the next step and be more consistent to meet the high expectations we have for her. Shelle had a great second half to last season, and we will look for her to continue where she left off. She is our best three-point threat and our best rebounder from the perimiter."

If she's going with experience, Pewinski will have a guard-dominated lineup on the court.

"Compared to seasons past, this team will always be playing small, but there will be times that we are playing four guards and one post," she said. "Some lineups will be dictated by our opponent, but I would like to think that once we establish our rotation, we will be able to take advantage of some mismatches. A lot of that will depend upon how quickly our young posts catch on and the situation our team is in as the season goes on. This current roster was made to play an up-tempo game. All of our posts are versatile enough to play multiple positions. And what they lack in strength or height, they will make up for in length and quickness."

LSSU's only returning post player sophomore Cassy Schemberger (5-11), who appeared in 13 games as a rookie as a back-up to All-GLIAC centers Alyssa VanderWal and Jaclyn Armstrong, along with Annie Dykhouse. Sophomore Sarah Cubr and junior Alyssa Loney played back-up roles at forward in 2008-09.

Freshman post players Maria Blazejewski (6-0) and Ciara Zumer (6-1) will be tested immediately.

"Obviously we can't expect our new crop of post players to do exactly what our post players did last year," Pewinski said. "This current group is completely different in their style of play and we will put them in positions to be successful. Because of their youth and inexperience, we will not ask them to plant down on the block and bang with more experienced players, but we will move them around and make them more active which will help them be successful. All of our posts (Cassy, Ciara and Maria) will be able to play out on the perimeter and bring a versatility that we have not had at that position in the past. My expectations for this group are that they will compete on both ends of the floor and do the little things that will allow them to fulfill their roles."

Pewinski indicated that both freshmen are capable shooters, while Schemberger has the strength to hold her own on the boards.

"Ciara Z is probably the most raw of the four post players, but she has a knack for finding the hoop and getting rebounds and blocking shots," Pewinski said. "She is comfortable shooting the three and gets up and down the floor easily. Cassy had a great summer and is ready to play this season. While undersized, she does a great job of getting position and uses her strength to her advantage to be an excellent rebounder. Maria is by far the most versatile of the four posts. She is an excellent shooter, but can handle the ball and create her own shot as well. She is a pure scorer and we will look to use her in a variety of ways to take advantage of that. As the season progresses, I envision us using her to initiate the offense at times."

LSSU, which finsihed 16-15 overall and 9-13 in the GLIAC last season, led the league in field-goal percentage defense in 2008-09. Defense is always on the minds of coaches with young teams. Pewinski's squad will have to find a different way of doing the job defensively in 2009-10.

"This is an area in which we will have to be disciplined in our assignments and with our communication," she said. "We are so used to having size in the middle to make up for our mistakes on the perimeter. Without that luxury, each person is going to have to be solid and improve that part of her game. I think it's something we will be good at, and we have the personnel to do some different types of defenses, but it will depend on each individual and whether they are willing to put the work in on that side of the ball."

Notes: Illinois-Springfield is coming off a 78-58 victory over Robert Morris on Nov. 18 and plays St. Ambrose on Tuesday. Indianapolis beat St. Catherine 66-50 on Nov. 15 and Saginaw Valley State 77-59 on Nov. 21. The Greyhounds, who were 24-10 in 2008-09, play host to Central State on Tuesday. Oakland City (Ind.) is the other team in the crossover tournament.