2007-08 Women’s Basketball Outlook

Excitement looms as Eagles head into 2007-08

Excitement looms for the University of Southern Indiana women’s basketball team in 2007-08.

That is because ninth-year Head Coach Rick Stein has the opportunity to mold eight talented newcomers with four returning players into a team that has expectations of winning a conference title and advancing to the NCAA II Tournament.

Nine players, including four starters, are gone from a squad that was 16-12, 10-9 in the GLVC, in 2006-07. However, the presence of All-GLVC senior forward Jasmine Baines and the versatility of senior guard Marshay Jolly help bolster a roster that includes five juniors, one sophomore, and four freshmen.

Baines was third on the team and 22nd in the GLVC with 11.8 points per game (ppg) as a junior last season. She was fifth in the conference with a team-high 14.0 ppg as a sophomore in 2005-06.

Jolly has averaged 3.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in three seasons wearing a Screaming Eagle uniform. She averaged 3.2 points and 1.6 rebounds as a junior a year ago.

Stein is counting on junior forward/centers Brittany Neuman and Jessica Grimaldo to lead the Eagles in the paint.

Neuman ended the 2006-07 season on a high note when she recorded a career-high 11 points and nine rebounds in USI’s first round loss to number-one seeded Lewis University in the GLVC Tournament. She played in all 28 games as a sophomore, averaging 2.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per outing.

Stein is hoping Grimaldo can return to the form she showed during the 2004-05 season, before a knee injury ended her season prematurely. Grimaldo, who averaged 14.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in five games before the injury in 2004-05, has had a solid off-season workout program and looks confident heading into this season.

If the Eagles are to be successful in 2007-08, they need their newcomers to step up and have big years.

Stein strengthened the front court with the additions of junior forward/center Ninette Evans and freshmen forward/centers Courtney Perry and Leigha Thompson.

Evans transferred from North Shoals Community College where she averaged 5.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in two seasons. She shot 62.2 percent from the field and averaged 5.6 points per game, while pulling down 5.6 rebounds per contest as a sophomore in 2006-07.

Perry, who averaged 8.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game as a senior at Crown Point High School, was named All-Area honorable mention by the Post Tribune in 2005-06 and pre-season All-Area by the Northwest Indiana Times as a senior in 2006-07.

Thompson, who was coached by her mother, Laurie, at Teutopolis High School, garnered third-team All-State honors from the Illinois Basketball Coaches’ Association before playing in the IBCA All-Star game. She averaged 9.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while leading THS to a 27-6 record as a senior in 2006-07.

Stein also bolstered the back court with the addition of junior guards Brittany Darden and Carly Clendenen, sophomore guard VaNita Smart, and freshmen guards Amie Newhart and Lauren Meneghetti.

Darden transferred from St. Catharine College where she earned NJCAA Division I All-Region VII honors after averaging nearly 13 points, five rebounds, and three steals per game as a sophomore in 2006-07. She led SCC to a 23-4 record and was named to the Western Division All-Conference team.

Clendenen averaged 11.9 points and shot 45.6 percent from the field as a sophomore at Rend Lake College. She connected on 91 three-pointers to help RLC to a 24-6 record in 2006-07.

Smart spent her freshman campaign at Indiana University where she saw action in 23 games during the 2006-07 season. Prior to attending IU, Smart was a two-time first-team All-Conference and All-Metro performer at Bosse High School. She owns a spot on BHS’s 1,000-point club after leading the team in scoring for four straight seasons.

Newhart graduated from Clinton Prairie High School where she finished 12th in the state of Indiana in scoring as a senior in 2006-07. She averaged 21.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 3.7 steals per game, while shooting 51.5 percent from the field as a senior. She was invited to Hoosier Basketball Magazine’s 2007 Top 40 Senior Workout.

Like Newhart, Meneghetti was invited to the Hoosier Basketball Magazine’s 2007 Top 40 Senior Workout after averaging 18.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 4.5 steals per outing as a senior at Munster High School. Meneghetti, who finished her career as MHS’s all-time leader in assists and its second-leading scorer, was named first-team All-Area as a junior and senior and was a three-time All-Conference performer.

The Eagles open the exhibition season November 1 with a trip to South Bend, Indiana, and the University of Notre Dame. They open the regular season with three straight home games, starting November 17 when they host the University of Illinois-Springfield.

USI opens its GLVC schedule December 1 when it visits rival Kentucky Wesleyan College. Following a pair of home games, USI travels out of the country to play a pair of games at the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout in Nassau, Bahamas, December 19-20.

Following a non-conference showdown with Saginaw Valley State University December 28 at the Physical Activities Center, the Eagles get into the meat of their GLVC slate when they visit the University of Missouri-St. Louis January 3 and Missouri University S&T (formerly Missouri-Rolla) on January 5.

USI plays its first GLVC home game January 10 when it hosts the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. It hosts the University of Indianapolis, which is under the direction of former USI assistant coach and All-American LeAnn Freeland, for homecoming February 9.

The Indianapolis game is the second contest of a four-game homestand for the Eagles, the longest such stretch of the season. USI’s Senior Day is March 1 when the Eagles host Missouri-St. Louis in their regular-season finale.

GLVC Tournament play begins March 6, while the NCAA II Great Lakes Regional Tournament is March 14-17. The NCAA II Elite Eight is March 26-29 in Kearney, Nebraska.


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