Women's Basketball Preview Part 1: Youngstown State
Nov. 10, 2004
This is the first in a nine-part series on the 2004-05 Horizon League women's basketball season. Each weekday leading up to the season opener on Nov. 16, www.horizonleague.org will profile a League men's basketball team, beginning with the team picked ninth in the preseason poll on Wednesday, Nov. 10, and ending with the preseason favorite on Friday, Nov. 19. The regular season will tip off on Nov. 19, when five Horizon League teams kick-off the 2004-05 season. All stories are courtesy of their respective school's sports information office.
Experienced Seniors to Lead Penguins in 2004-05
Experience and balance. Those are the two key assets for the Youngstown State women's basketball program as it enters the 2004-05 basketball campaign.
College coaches often point to their seniors for leadership, but the experience factor may be an even more important component to a team's success.
In 2004-05, the Youngstown State Penguins have five seniors - Barb Fabianova, Tara Fleming, Cathy Hanek, Jen Perugini and Melissa Tarrant - who have played a combined 330 intercollegiate basketball games and a total of 10 letterwinners returning.
"I have high expectations for our seniors," said second-year head coach Tisha Hill. "They've been working extremely hard in the offseason preparing for this year.
"And it is not just our seniors," Hill added. "All of our players know what we expect from them and they are putting in the extra time in the weight room and in the gym. They all want a successful season."
Coaches also want to have multiple threats to stabilize its offensive attack and not allow opposing defenses to concentrate on shutting down just one player.
This season, the Penguins give Hill that balance in both the backcourt and the frontcourt. Both areas have the talent and versatility where players have the ability to play mutliple positions.
"We are well-balanced from a team standpoint," Hill said. "Our players are well-rounded and can play different positions for us and I think that only helps us."
Backcourt
With two freshmen and a redshirt junior that missed an entire season, the Penguins' backcourt was an area of uncertainty last season. Now with an extra year of playing experience and some added athleticism, Hill feels more confident in her guard play the upcoming season.
"Last season was very new to all of us," Hill said. "We had two freshmen point guards and a player who missed an entire season coupled with a new system, there were some challenges."
All the challenges aside, point guards Kristy Gaudiose and Ashlee Russo, both sophomores, gained valuable experience in running the offense and seek to improve on their promising rookie-year performances.
Gaudiose, who appeared in 24 games with 12 starts, averaged 6.0 points per game and led the squad with 71 assists. Her 2.96 assist per game average ranked seventh in the Horizon League.
Russo, who also garnered 12 starts in 23 games, averaged 4.6 points and 1.7 assists per game and shot 44.8 percent from the floor while battling a chronic foot injury.
"Ashlee and Kristy both showed a lot of poise last season," Hill said. "We threw them right into the fire and they did a nice job for us."
Joining Guadiose and Russo at the point guard slot is freshman Lauren Branson, who set the Cincinnati Archbishop McNicholas High School career assists record.
Senior Cathy Hanek missed the 2002-03 campaign due to an inflammatory arthritis condition but returned last season to lead the Penguins in scoring. This season, the fifth-year senior gives the Penguins an outside scoring threat at the shooting guard position.
Hanek led the Penguins with 37 3-pointers last season and ranks seventh all-time with 102 career treys.
"Cathy is just such a hard worker," Hill said. "She just gets after it every single day whether it is the offseason or at practice."
Newcomer My'Kea Cohill from Warrensville Heights, Ohio joins Hanek at the two-spot. Cohill, who averaged 15 points and six rebounds per game last year, was a three-year letterwinner and two-year team captain at Warrensville Heights High School and garnered special mention All-Ohio honors last season.
Front Court
The Youngstown State frontcourt is senior-loaded with 2002 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year Jen Perugini, Barb Fabianova, Tara Fleming, and Melissa Tarrant returning - all three-year letterwinners.
Perugini, a 6-foot-2 forward, played through an agonizing foot injury and averaged just 6.7 points per game. She also needs just 187 more points to become the 16th player in school history to record 1,000 career points.
"Jen really showed a lot of dedication last offseason," Hill said. "She stay in town for most of the summer and hit the weight room really hard. She is going to be a stronger and, I think, a much better player."
Tarrant, who has been plagued by injuries her entire career, gave the Penguins valuable, productive minutes before a dislocated elbow ended her season.
Freshman Jessica Schloemp, a 6-foot-3 forward from Findlay High School, was named one of the top 64 basketball players in the State of Ohio by Ohio Girls' Basketball Magazine and will battle for time at the power forward slot.
After missing most of her sophomore season and much of her junior campaign to a knee injury, Fabianova has worked herself into the best playing shape of her career, according to Hill.
Standing 6-feet tall, Fabianova, who has long-range capabilities, will garner a lot of the minutes at the small forward position. Last season, the Slovak Republic native averaged 3.7 points per game.
"Barb is emerging as one of our team leaders," Hill said. "She has been a tireless worker since the end of last season. She is stronger, quicker and can really shoot the ball well."
Junior Aliyah Sabree, who made eight starts last season is also slotted to see action at the small forward.
In the middle, Fleming provides a foreboding defense presence and an occasional offensive threat. The 6-foot-3 center led the Penguins with 43 blocks last year and ranks third all-time with 81 career blocks. She averaged 5.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 47.1 percent from the field.
"Tara has made tremendous stride since last season," Hill said. "She is another kid who came back during the summer months to work out and get better."
Junior Michelle Holmes and Nicole Neila are expected to provide depth in the paint.
Holmes appeared in just 12 games due to a foot injury while Neila averaged 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last season.
Summary
The old saying "Rome was not built in a day" applies to the Youngstown State women's basketball program but the foundation and championship-building blocks are being placed.
With 10 letterwinners and five seniors on the 2004-05 squad, the Penguins have the ingredients to be successful. Youngstown State just needs to take advantage of its experience and find the right balance to achieve victory.
