The Wayne State Way

The 2002-2003 Wayne State University women’s basketball team looks to have the best of both worlds. Seasoned veterans and bright newcomers, tenacious defense and explosive offense, lethal outside and powerful inside game are all part of the Warriors’ game plan.

Third-year head coach Gloria Bradley says Wayne State is ready to make an impact at the top of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. And despite going 4-4 on the road in league play last year, Bradley was slightly disappointed. “Some of those games went down to the wire and we lost. If we had better execution early in the game, that wouldn’t have happened. We didn’t get it done when we needed to.” WSU also lost two overtime games at home to GLIAC opponents Findlay (77-69) and Ferris State (87-75).

So Bradley took action. “We upgraded our non-conference schedule early to prepare us for the GLIAC. We’re making a conscientious effort to take the program in a different direction.”

Upgrading the schedule includes games against four squads who were listed in final 2002 USA Today/ESPN Division II Coaches’ Poll. Two were ranked teams (Northern Kentucky at No. 5 and Lake Superior State at No. 22) and the two others also received votes in the balloting (Hillsdale and Nebraska-Kearney).

Thus began the 2002-2003 journey. The off-season was a hectic one for Bradley. “With only four returnees, it was hard to do any team practicing in the off-season. We prepared the veterans to step up and be leaders. They got stronger mentally and worked on skill development and conditioning.”

Wayne State returns four players from last year’s 16-11 (9-8 GLIAC) squad, comprised of the top three scorers in Keneisha Moss (15.8 ppg), Jessica King (12.3) and Ebony Vincent (8.2) along with Nikki Jackson, a 2002 GLIAC All-Academic selection.

Moss, a two-time GLIAC South Player of the Week (Dec. 3, Feb. 11), was the Warriors’ leading scorer in 14 games. “She is a tremendous athlete who has the will to win. This year she’ll have to show she can do it every night and become more consistent and show her leadership,” said Bradley.

King, who started all 27 games last year, is the Warriors’ deadliest outside shooter and was second on the team with 54 steals. Bradley is aware of King’s value to the team. “She is a silent assassin and has always been the most underrated player on this team. She gets the job done day in and day out, on and off the court.”

The guard position is a nice blend of Vincent, a scoring point guard, and Jackson, who is very smart and versatile, playing the guard and forward positions.

“Ebony was a spark off the bench last year. She brought our intensity up with her defense,” Bradley remarked. Vincent was also second on the team with 58 assists a year ago.

Her counterpart, Jackson, will also bring the points and leadership Bradley is expecting. “Jackson will be a scorer for us, yet another three-point shooter.” She averaged 5.2 points off the bench last year.

With the loss of eight players, the Warriors also lost a lot of height. Four of the eight were 5-10 or taller so one of Coach Bradley’s biggest recruiting concerns was height. “The downfall is they are young, but as long as we get them strong mentally and physically and bring them along quickly without them getting discouraged. We need them to develop and develop quickly. Obviously someone has a starting spot with her name on it. Who it is, we have yet to find out.”

Six-footers Casey Banks (6-0) and Erin Gallagher (6-2) are true, traditional post players, but bring two different styles to the table. Bradley explained, “Banks is very aggressive on the inside and has nice post moves. If she keeps working hard, she’ll be a dominant player in this league. Gallagher on the other hand, runs the floor very well, rebounds and will kick the ball out when needed.”

Also helping out in the paint will be freshmen Shatona Clark and Qeyata Hines. Both are 5-9 post players who are going to be strong forces inside and can shoot the three.

Other new Warriors Bradley is high on are Jodi Young and Kristen Rogers. “The word ‘can’t’ is not is Jodi’s vocabulary and Rogers gives 100%, 100% of the time and loves to do all the little things that make her and her teammates better.”

Two freshman Detroiters, Ashley Gibson (Benedictine H.S.) and Ralphanee Peyton (Cody H.S.), will redshirt this year at WSU.

With an up-tempo style of play in which the offense is dictated by the defense, the Warriors will build their offense with the deep threat from a year ago and a new, fresh look down low. The Warriors will look to gain momentum on last year’s deep-shooting success. The team finished the season fourth in the nation in three-pointers per game (8.04) and shattered the school record for three-pointers in a season with 217, the old record was 150 (1997-98). King led WSU with her school record 68 long-bombs on the season.

The mix of old and new is good for Bradley. “The vets finally understand what I want after a tough transition and it’s nice to have the new players because they don’t know any other ‘Wayne State way.’ There is plenty of early chemistry with this team that is always a challenge. But they really seem to work well together.”

The Warriors open their campaign on Friday and Saturday, November 22-23 at the Kutztown (Pa.) Tournament with games against Assumption (Mass.) and Saint Anselm (N.H.).