Ohio State women’s basketball coach Jim Foster received a number of accolades for the job he did last year, coaching his team to a 22-10 mark for the season and never losing a home game.
This year he hopes to guide the Buckeyes through another great season in search of a championship ring, be it Big Ten Conference or a national championship.
But Foster will have to do it this season without three key players from last year’s No.4-ranked NCAA tournament team. This year the Buckeyes add three freshman to go with three seniors, three juniors and four sophomores who return from last years squad.
“No one on this team has played more than one full college basketball season,” Foster said. “I don’t look out there and naturally see, because of experience, that a certain person will be the leader because they have the most experience or are the oldest. Somehow leadership will evolve, and who it is, and where it comes from will work itself out early in the season.”
Returning for the Buckeyes will be All-Big Ten players Caity Matter and Kim Wilburn. Matter was a stand-out guard in her sophomore season, gaining experience on the gold-medal winning 2003 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Women Team over the summer. She will be looking to get some help from the other seven returning letter-winners from a year ago, as the Buckeyes add four new faces to the squad for the 2003-2004 season.
“I’m from Ohio, so I’m excited about being back and playing in my home state,” Michelle Muñoz said. “I’m looking forward to being in the competitive environment of playing against other teams again.”
Muñoz, a sophomore transfer, will be playing with the scarlet and gray for her first season after transferring to OSU from the University of Tennessee a year ago. Last year she sat out and did not practice because of ankle sugeries. This year, Muñoz is excited at the prospect of playing against some of her friends who attend Purdue and Illinois, as well as the high-level of competition the Big Ten is known for.
“With being young we have to grow up a lot faster than other teams,” Muñoz said. “If we can do that then we’ll be successful. Its good, we will be with each other and grow together over the next couple years; some people see that as a negative, but I think that can be turned into a positive.”
Joining Muñoz in their first seasons as Buckeyes will be freshmen Stephanie Blanton, Jessica Davenport and Brandie Hoskins who either start, or gain playing experience coming off the bench because of the some of the bumps and bruises on the OSU roster.
The Buckeyes will have to start the season without senior forward and center LaToya Turner and junior guard Ashley Allen because of injuries. Turner’s presence may be missed in the middle as she led the team in blocks a year ago. Allen, lost last year because of an injury in January, may be back as soon as Sunday, according to Foster.
“We will probably start the first game without LaToya and Ashley,” Foster said. “Hopefully Ashley will be back by Sunday and LaToya continues to get closer. The good news is the freshmen have played well during the preseason and the scrimmages we’ve had have given us a room for optimism, that they will be ready right away to help us.”
“We have a lot more versatility this season,” Matter said. “Not taking anything away from the individuals we had last season, but when we throw in players like Jessica Davenport and LaToya Turner into our lineup, it’s going to be tough for opposing teams to defend us.”
Players stepping in will get a chance to gain experience in front of the home crowd, as OSU will host its first four opponents, starting with Ohio University at 7p.m. in the Schottenstein Center.
