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March 15, 2005
Future looks bright for women’s basketball
Melissa Young-Kruse, in her first season coaching the women’s basketball team at Hamline, may not have ended the year with the win-loss record she would have liked, but she still saw success in many facets of the Pipers season.
“I really enjoyed my experience in my first year at Hamline. I think it is a great place,” she said.
Hamline finished the season 7-17 overall and 4-16 in the MIAC, despite being ranked as high as 11th in the nation in scoring at various times throughout the season.
The Pipers will need to improve greatly on defense if they want to climb the MIAC ranks, but their offense is exactly where it needs to be headed into next season.
Hamline finished as the number-three team in scoring in the conference, with an average of 71.9 ppg.
They were fourth as a team in three-point field goal percentage and second as a team in steals.
Young-Kruse saw her Piper squad of all underclassmen set school records for most points in a game and largest margin of victory in the opening days of the season.
Hamline broke the record for points in a game when the Pipers defeated North Central 118-47 for the new record. The 71-point win also helped surpass the largest margin-of-victory record for the Pipers set just prior as they defeated Cornell by 59 points, 104-45.
The Pipers also came close against some of the top teams in the conference this year, holding on strong against Carleton and St. Thomas before fading away in the last few minutes.
“I’m definitely proud we were able to do that,” Young-Kruse said.
She praised her players, saying, “I’m very proud of the way the kids played and most impressed with their work ethic.
“I think they made great strides in learning a new style of basketball, adjusting to new players and a new coaching staff.”
She added: “All of the players contributed in some respect. Obviously Laurisa Ewert did a great job this year, and Carolyn Korchik hitting her 1,000 point as a junior was a fantastic accomplishment.”
Young-Kruse also feels that her team is ready to make a move in the MIAC, saying, “We’re right there. We just need to jump over the hump, not step over it.”
One of the Pipers’ biggest strengths heading into the 2005-06 season will be their powerful offense and the experience the players gained this year. Hamline ended this season completely intact, graduating no athletes.
The players took a short one-week break at the end of the season from working out and are already back in the gym setting their sights on future success.
To achieve this success, Young-Kruse said, “They need to polish their strengths and add some pizzazz to their game. It is in the off-season that real players are made.”
With shadows of Hamline’s past men’s basketball success lurking in Hutton Arena, Young-Kruse said a few of her women’s players working out in the gym late at night have on occasion felt the greatness and tradition of that past touch them.
“Hopefully some of that spirit of Hamline in the past and the winning tradition rubs off on our kids.”
Posted by msveum at March 15, 2005 02:09 PM
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