2007-2008 Season Preview
“Soaring to New Heights”
Most teams that have been to five NAIA National Championship Tournaments…including a runner-up finish…don’t get over looked. But with half her team being freshmen, Cornerstone University women’s basketball coach Carla Fles wouldn’t be surprised if conference coaches look in a different direction when picking a pre-season favorite.
“We don’t have that notable post player that we’ve had in the past,” Fles said, “including some All-Americans. This year we won’t have that, so I think we will be a little bit of a surprise team But when I look at the talent we have, and how hard everybody is working, I think we can definitely be considered among the top two…and taking another trip to the Nationals is a possibility too. “Looking at who we have coming back, if we can stay injury free and we can get some consistency from those freshmen, I think we can be better than people think.”
Last year Cornerstone finished 22-11, including a 10-4 mark in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play. The Golden Eagles finished third during the WHAC’s regular season, but got hot in the post-season, winning the conference tournament and earning another trip to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. “Winning the conference tournament got us our fifth trip to the Nationals,” Fles said. “That was a great accomplishment. We started peaking at the right time, and for our seniors it was their third trip to the National Tournament.”
Most programs hope to earn a tournament berth, but at Cornerstone it has become an expectation. “We want to be among the top 25 teams in the country, “Fles said, “and I think that right now people see us in that light and expect that kind of performance from our program. We’ve been at the National Tournament multiple times, and that helps, because nothing helps as much as having players who have been there. It just gives them a drive to continue to go back, but even more important is the realization that we can compete with the teams we meet there.”
This year’s junior class had that experience as sophomores, and can be counted on to pass the hard work ethic on to six freshmen on the 2007-2008 roster. Six veterans will return for this season. The Golden Eagles won’t have much height, but with seven players listed at 5-10 or 5-11, they have depth at the post position. “This is the shortest lineup we’ve ever had,” Fles said. “No six-footers. But we have good kids and a lot of depth. Last year we were more post-focused, where this year we will emphasize perimeter play more. That’s going to be our strength, as far as returning experience goes. And many of those 5-10 kids can play on the perimeter, which will give us an advantage. “I think this will also be our best post passing team, inside players being good at moving the ball around, making the inside-out game work. I haven’t had that much in the past.”
The Golden Eagles may go more up-tempo, and there will probably be more full court pressing.
“We may have that potential,” Fles said. “We are just going to see what the starting lineup will look like, who is going to step forward. Everybody is going to have a chance to contribute and step forward.”
The top returner should be Jenna Plewes (5-10, Zeeland East), who was an Honorable Mention NAIA All-American last year. She tied a school record for assists in a game with 13, and ranked 11th nationally in assists plus, she will bring a 13 points, 7 rebound average into this season.
“Her natural position is not at point guard, but she played that for us last year because that’s what we needed,” Fles said. “And she did an outstanding job. She was a scorer/creator, got the whole team involved. This year we’ll need her to step up on defense and be able to lock down the other team’s best player. But she is our top returner.”
Kara Overbeek (5-9, Holland Christian) is the other returning starter. Overbeek averaged 10.6 points and 4.0 rebounds a game last year, twice hitting for 19 points among her 18 double-digit scoring nights. She averaged 32.5 minutes per game. “I felt she should have been on the all-conference team,” Fles said. “She brought so much to the team. A very consistent player and a good three-point shooter, she played a huge role in our success. I think she has all-conference potential this year.”
Ali Keag (5-11, Saugatuck) had a solid freshman season a year ago, and will have an important role to play as a sophomore. She played in all 33 games a year ago, coming away with a 6.6 points per game scoring average, and 139 total rebounds. She had 17 points in the game with Bethel. “She got a lot of playing time last year as our back-up post player,” Fles said. “She made the All-Freshman team. She played really well in the non-conference early, but by the time we got to conference play teams knew about her and keyed on her. She can shoot from the outside, but we are going to need her to be a physical presence inside.”
Senior Jill Peterson (5-8, Centreville) returns after missing most of last year with knee injury. At the conclusion of the 2005-2006 season she received the team’s Hustle Award, and if she stays healthy, can add real depth to the backcourt. “She is still day-to-day,” Fles said. “But she is just so tough, and she will do anything to help the team. She is a good ball handler, she’s physical, she is a leader. I hope she goes out with a great season.”
Tami Thelen (5-10, Lansing Homeschool) will be a junior this winter. “This could be a breakout season for her,” Fles said. “She played a lot of minutes as our sixth man off the bench. She is probably our best three-point threat, and she’s worked very hard in the weight room. She can handle going to the basket more without being pushed around.”
The other returner is Dani Kraai (5-10, Zeeland East), a volleyball player. “She can be a solid post player for us,” Fles said. “She does the little things to get extra rebounds or get us to the free-throw line. She is a real hustler, and has a lot more confidence this year.”
Six freshmen will build a solid foundation for the future. “All six come in with solid backgrounds, and they’ve all won every sort of honor you can win,” Fles said. “All-Area, All-conference, good scorers. I think it is a very solid class.
Brooke Carter (5-10, Byron Center) played three years of varsity ball and finished as a member of the Grand Rapids Press’ All-Area team. She averaged 15 points and 9 rebounds a game.
“She comes from a great program, and she impressed me from the start. She needs to adjust to playing against bigger players at the college level. But she is a finesse player and can take it outside.”
Amanda Gorski (5-10, Oakland Christian) was a first-team All-State selection a year ago, averaging 14 points and 9 rebounds a game. In her final two seasons, Oakland Christian went 48-4. “She was Class D All-State,” Fles said. “A very strong, physical player. She’s left-handed, which gives us a different dimension.”
Alicia TerHaar (5-10, South Christian) is another volleyball player who should fit in well with the basketball lineup. “She had a great career at South Christian,” Fles said. “In basketball she was the leading scorer, and her volleyball team won a State Championship. We like to have players who understand what it takes to play at the best level.”
Ashleigh Lund (5-5, Thornapple Kollogg) is a soccer player who will have to adapt to collegiate basketball. She is her school’s all-time assists leader and was a four-year starter. “She is having a great soccer season,” Fles said. “She is a very physical, strong defensive player and we are going to count on that this winter.”
Krista Vink (5-10, Hamilton) is the other freshman, “I have seen so much improvement in her already,” Fles said. “I think she can do well for us. She’s gotten a lot stronger and playing off-season ball with college-level players have has helped her a great deal.”
The Golden Eagles will definitely be tested early in the pre-season as they will play 5 teams that participated in the NAIA National Tournament: Trinity Christian, Bethel Ind., St. Francis Ind., Cardinal Stritch and the 2007 NAIA National Champions, Indiana Wesleyan. “We don’t shy away from playing the best. It is good for us to be tested and find out what we need to work on to make it back to the National Tournament.”
Last year’s team exceeded expectations. Fles wouldn’t mind having that happen again.
“I love to start a new season,” she said, “Because we get to start over again. We have depth this year, but it is freshman depth, so we have to see how far it takes us. But I like this team, and I especially like the personalities, the way everybody enjoys being with everybody else. I think this is going to be a fun, interesting season, and the potential is there to be a pretty good team.”
