By Brooks Hatch
| Posted: Thursday, October 16, 2008 12:00 am
Gazette-Times reporter
Seniors win games in the Pacific-10 Conference.
So Oregon State women's basketball coach LaVonda Wagner is understandably thrilled that the 2008-09 Beavers will feature veteran seniors at point guard (Mercedes Fox-Griffin), shooting guard (Brittney Davis) and center (Tiffany Ducker) to anchor her fourth OSU team.
"We haven't had that many seniors since my first year here," Wagner said Tuesday in previewing her club at a Valley Football Center news conference. "That gives us some Pac-10 experience coming back, and I'm very excited about that.
"We're looking to play hard, smart, together and with confidence. We were 12-18 last year; 11 of those loses were by an average of 5.7 points.
"There were a lot of games we just didn't close out and we're looking forward to closing those games out this season."
That's where the experience pays off. Wagner's first team (2005-06) had four senior starters, won nine games by less than 10 points, 16 overall and advanced to the second round of the WNIT. The 2006-07 and 2007-08 squads each had just one senior starter, and dropped off to nine and 12 victories, respectively, while going 4-14 in the Pac-10.
Practice begins on Friday. Home exhibition games against Lewis & Clark (Nov. 2) and Concordia (Nov. 10) will prepare OSU for its Nov. 16 regular-season opener with Sacramento State, also at Gill Coliseum.
"We have a great nonconference schedule, we're excited about this journey, what we have to offer, and we're preparing for a great and exciting season," Wagner said.
One of Wagner's top objectives is finding offensive balance to a program that has been primarily guard-oriented in her first three years. The only center/forward to post significant offensive numbers from 2006-08 was Kim Butler, 18.6 points in 2006.
The pieces are present to assemble a productive inside game.
Ducker is an athletic, 6-foot-1 three-year starter who Wagner said has worked hard in the offseason to polish her face-up jumper and post-up game.
Alex Mitchell, a 6-4 sophomore, improved greatly in the second half of last season. Junior Stacey Nichols (6-1) is a two-year starter and 6-3 sophomore Brittany Eskridge has great potential.
Add 6-3 College of Southern Idaho junior transfer Anita Burdick into the mix and the ingredients are there for increased inside presence.
"We've played through our guards," Wagner acknowledged. "I have challenged our team every single day to be balanced, to have an inside-outside game. We should be able to score on the inside to help our guards out.
"We've been very lean (inside), it was a big challenge to bring in more height. We must be able to go against some of the bigger players in the conference. (Opponents) have just passed it over the top and shot over us. We need some height to counter that. That's been the mission, to get some size in here, people I have to look up to."
However, the backcourt remains the Beavers' bread-and-butter.
• Fox-Griffin averaged 4.8 assists last season and was third-team all-Pac-10.
"My expectations for her are really high," Wagner said. "I want her to be that floor general, direct traffic, get people in the spots they are supposed to be, understand what our opponents are trying to do, and make those adjustments."
• Davis probably would have earned some postseason honors had not a broken nose and a knee injury that sidelined her for eight games greatly hindered her. She underwent offseason surgery and is 100 percent healthy.
"She's very versatile," Wagner said. "She can score the deep 3, stop and pop and have a great mid-range game and she can get to the rim. She's a great defender with a passion for the game."
OSU was 11-12 overall and 3-7 in the Pac-10 with Davis, but 1-7, all in the Pac-10, without her. Six of those losses were by 11 points or less, and three were by a combined 11 points.
• Sophomore sharpshooter Talisa Rhea made the Pac-10 all-freshman team and made 67 3-pointers, second-most in school history.
"She has worked a lot on her game," Davis said. "She was in the gym all summer long. I think she's grown a lot and I can't wait to watch her do some damage in the Pac-10."
• Incoming freshman point guard Brittany Kennedy played on three state championship teams at Lewis & Clark High in Spokane. She thrives on on-ball defense, and will be one of the fastest players in the Pac-10.
Newcomers Kennedy, Burdick, 6-1 freshman forward Kirsten Tilleman, a former Montana Player of the Year who has been favorably compared to ex-Beavers star Casey Nash, and redshirt freshman guard Kassandra McCalister will all see major minutes, especially with two-year letterman reserve guard Julie Futch facing a possible redshirt season after undergoing surgery to correct a tendon problem in her left foot.
"Every year we're getting better, doing things at a higher level because that's what coach expects from us," Fox-Griffin said.
Each player spent all or part of the summer in Corvallis, attending classes, conditioning workouts and team-building exercises. At night they generally assembled at Goss Stadium, where Davis worked as a KEJO radio intern during Corvallis Knights broadcasts.
"For them to come to my internship and support me showed how close our team is and how we really had each other's back," Davis said. "It will help us in a positive way."
Read Brooks Hatch's blog at gazettetimes.com/sports for more OSU women's basketball news.
2008-09 OSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
HEAD COACH: LaVonda Wagner, fourth season at OSU (37-53), fourth season overall (37-53).
STAFF: Assistant coach Krista Reinking, fourth year; assistant coach Kellee Barney, first year; assistant coach Anthony Turner, first year; director of operations Erin Entwistle, fourth year; assistant director of operations Stacy Clinesmith, first year.
2007-08 RECORD: 12-19 overall, 4-14 Pacific-10 Conference, tied for eighth place.
RETURNERS: Sr. G Brittney Davis (12.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg); sr. G Mercedes Fox-Griffin (8.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.8 apg); sr. C Tiffany Ducker (7.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg); jr. F Stacey Nichols (2.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg); jr. G Julie Futch (2.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg); so. G Talisa Rhea (9.9 ppg0, 2.5 rpg); so. C/F Brittany Eskridge (0.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg); so. C Alex Mitchell (4.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg).
REDSHIRTS: 5-9 fr. G Kassandra McCalister.
INCOMING FRESHMEN: G Brittany Kennedy (Lewis & Clark High, Spokane); F Kirsten Tilleman (Bozeman High, Bozeman, Mont.).
TRANSFERS: Jr. F Anita Burdick (College of Southern Idaho); jr. G Eboni Sadler (Miami, Fla.)
PLAYERS LOST: G Ashley Allen (14.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg); G Antionette Reed (0.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg); F Viki Wohlers (0.7 ppg, 0.8 rpg; F Whitney Champlin (0.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg).
SCHEDULE: Nov. 2: Lewis & Clark (exhibition), 3 p.m. Nov. 11: Concordia (exhibition), 7 p.m. Nov. 16: Sacramento State, 5:30 p.m. Nov. 19: Houston, 7 p.m. Nov. 28: vs. Arkansas at Junkanoo Jam, Freeport, Bahamas, 3:15 p.m. Nov. 29: vs. Pacific or North Carolina at Junkaroo Jam, Freeport, Bahamas, TBA. Dec. 3: at San Francisco, 6 p.m. Dec. 7: Portland State, 4 p.m. Dec. 15: UNLV, 7 p.m. Dec. 18: at UC-Irvine, 7 p.m. Dec. 21: CSU-Bakersfield, 2 p.m. Dec. 28: Western Oregon, 4 p.m. Jan. 2: at UCLA, 7 p.m. Jan. 4: at USC, 2 p.m. Jan. 8: Arizona State, 7 p.m. Jan. 10: Arizona, 7 p.m. Jan. 15: at Washington State, 7 p.m. Jan. 17: at Washington, 2 p.m. Jan. 22: California, 7 p.m. Jan. 24: Stanford, 7 p.m. Jan. 31: at Oregon, 2 p.m. Feb. 5: at Arizona, 6 p.m. Feb. 7: at Arizona State, 3 p.m. Feb. 12: Washington, 7 p.m. Feb. 14: Washington State, 7 p.m- Feb. 19: at Stanford, 7 p.m. Feb. 21: at California, 2 p.m. Feb. 24: at UC-Santa Barbara, 7 p.m. Feb. 28: Oregon, 7 p.m. March 5: USC, 7 p.m. March 7: UCLA, 7 p.m. March 12-15: at Pac-10 Tournament, Los Angeles, TBA