Basketball season is here again and the William Jewell College Cardinals are ready to take over the court. The women’s basketball team ended last season with an overall record of 10-19 and a conference record of 5-13.
“Our record last year, I don’t think, was a very true reflection of how the season went. There were several games that we all believed we should have won. There were 11 games where we lost by less than 10 points. After finishing the way we did, we are all ready to make a comeback,” says junior business administration and communication major Katie Cordray.
However, the team is ready for a comeback this year. The team has a new weight lifting coach, Gage Rosier.
“He has us doing a different type of lift than we have done in the past. The weight workout only lasts for about 30-40 minutes at the most and he really focuses on getting in a lot of reps and doing them explosively and quickly,” said senior psychology major Chris Keys.
The women’s team also have a new coach assistant, Larry Williams.
“He brings so much positivity, encouragement and wisdom to our team” said Keys.
The team also has a new offense that is different from what they have done in the past three years. Two seniors are playing their last season on court. Keys has played forward throughout the previous seasons. However, he is playing center position this season.
“This season Coach has me playing the center position, and that is a change up because I haven’t played that since high school, when I was bigger and stronger than everyone. But I like challenges,” Keys said. She has averaged 5.3 rebounds and 9.8 points per game this season so far. Keys has high expectations for this season.
“I feel really good about this season because we have great chemistry, our defense is clicking and we just put in a new offense that I really think will allow us to utilize more of our strengths.”
Senior elementary education major Maddie Nelson from Smithville, Mo. has played the guard position throughout her career. She was named All-GLVC Second Team in 2015. Nelson averages 16.3 points and 7.3 rebounds so far this season. Nelson is looking forward to this season.
“I love playing with these girls. I want to keep that going and compete every play, and I know good things will come from it,” said Nelson. She also expects more success this season.
”We are still learning how to read our offense and what is going to work for us, I definitely feel better about it than last year because our team chemistry is so great. We all get along and I feel like because of that we have a leg up on a lot of our opponents,” said Nelson.
The team has a 2-2 record so far this season.
“The season started off with an exciting win over Western Illinois (NCAA Division 1). We are still pretty new in the GLVC conference and I see improvement throughout the team each year. We are slowly turning the corner and I believe we will get there this year,” said Corday.
Their next game will be on December 3rd against Truman State University.