Last Monday’s game against Cincinnati was another ‘Marquette style game.’ Following Marquette women’s basketball is always exciting because it always has that unpredictable ending. The best minutes of the game are always the last five minutes of the game. This was another one of those games.

On Senior night, the last home game of the season, senior Lauren Thomas-Johnson played superbly. With a total of 17 points, including scoring 10 of her 12 points in OT, it was nearly a perfect game. Senior Janelle Harris racked up six points as well, which helped the team come out of a five game losing streak dating back to a February 13 loss to Providence at home.

The game started out close, with the Cincinnati Bearcats leading 12-5 early. The score would remaine close all the way up to half time; Marquette went into the locker room at the end of the half with a 32-28 lead over the Bearcats. During the first half, Jessica Pachko had some great baskets as well, scoring 4 points for Marquette under the basket, and hitting Paige Fiedorowicz for two back-to-back buckets. Fiedorowicz then went on to make two more shots, giving her a total of eleven points before the end of the first half.

In the second half, Tatiyiana McMorris showed off a little with a three pack of beautiful 3’s, netting Marquette 9 crucial points. Pachko returned and put some solid baskets in, putting up a couple baskets in the second half, including her first-ever three-pointer. Scores of both Cinncinati and Marquette in the second half were neck-and-neck, until McMorris and Pachko put Marquette up 57-51, with 4:05 left to play. Then, with 4.5 seconds left, Cincinnati’s Shareese Ulis made a lay-up, tying the score at 57-57.

With five minutes to get the job done in overtime, Marquette got to work early with Thomas-Johnson scoring ten points, and had some help from McMorris, as well as Fiedorowicz who was able to chip in two. Cinncinati, for their part, keep it close with a jump shot by Ulis and two free throws by Kahla Roudebush, but ultimately it was not enough. Thomas-Johnson’s last shot brought the final score to 69-63.

All in all, the game was as exciting as it gets. As Lauren Thomas-Johnson said in her comments after the game, “This game we just smiled…it was a fun game…we basically just had fun.” With a win and an attitude like this, the women’s basketball team was able to carry their momentum for another win at Villanova before tripping up Depaul in a ten point loss.

by Joanna Parkes
joanna.parkes@mu.edu

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Building off confidence, experience and a competitive fierceness, the reigning WNIT champions can be sure that they made some noise when they defeated Michigan State in the WNIT championship 81-66.
The Marquette women’s basketball team is ranked 22 to 25 in a variety of highly regarded national preseason polls also boasting a Sporting News second team All-American in senior guard Krystal Ellis.
Head coach Terri Mitchell believes that the team has benefited tremendously from the Golden Eagles WNIT victory last April, fueling a desire for more. “The hunger that they went into the summer with has been unbelievable and how they’ve come back prepared,” Mitchell said of her team.

But Mitchell also made sure to stress the need for that hunger to stay consistent and be present throughout the entire season.

In a conference as competitive as the Big East, any signs of faltering could be devastating. The Big East is home to Connecticut, Rutgers and Louisville, all teams that rank within the top 10 of several preseason polls.

The Golden Eagles have high expectations for its backcourt to maintain the level of play it has grown so accustom to. The team’s guard play has been their “bread and butter” the past several seasons, especially during the 2007-2008 campaign.

Last season, the aforementioned Krystal Ellis led the team in scoring with 19.4 ppg (second in the Big East), was selected to the All-Big East Team for the second consecutive season, was named WNIT Tournament MVP and put herself within 272 points of the school’s all-time scoring record of 1,818 points set by Abbie Willenborg.

But it seems as though the scoring record is not the highest goal on her priority list. Rather she said she is “more focused on winning a national championship…I just want to win.”

In order for that happen, the Golden Eagles and Ellis will need continued contributions from players who performed well last season, especially throughout the WNIT Tournament.

Returning guards, sophomore Angel Robinson and senior Erin Monfre, will no doubt look to build off last season’s success and take advantage of the continuity a season together has afforded them.

Robinson, in her freshman season, showed much promise for the future by averaging 11.4 ppg and being named to the Big East All Freshman Team. Her play affords the team little drop-off at point guard when Ellis is off the court and compliments Ellis’ game when they are playing side by side.

Another player whose performance may dictate the success of the Golden Eagles is senior guard Erin Monfre. Although entering Marquette as a highly regarded shooter, Monfre has developed into a much more versatile player.

Coach Mitchell has described her as an “excellent zone defender” but more importantly, Monfre describes herself as an “emotional leader” for the team. What she brings each night may not be apparent in the box score, but it is quite clear that the team plays better with her on the floor.

In the biggest game to date in her collegiate career, Monfre led the Golden Eagles to an emotional victory over MSU in the WNIT Championship by burying 5 three pointers and scoring 15 points.

In only losing two players from last season (forward Svetlana Kovalenko to graduation and forward Kelly Lam, a senior this season who decided to forego her final year of eligibility), the Golden Eagles expect a significant amount of stability. But this does not mean that the team will not look to tweak a thing or two.

In the WNIT Tournament, the team found much success when they abandoned their traditional half-court defense for a high-pressured full-court attack. Mitchell iterated the team’s desire to start the season off in the same defensive fashion in which it left it.

Also, Marquette can expect more adjustments when it comes to playing time. Of the team’s four newcomers, all four expect to vie for a role in the rotation.

Returning junior guard Janelle Harris and England native and junior Lauren Thomas-Johnson, a junior college transfer, both figure to fit into the stacked guard rotation.

The departure of Kovalenko, last season’s lone senior and anchor in the frontcourt, leaves the team vulnerable and in the market for players to contribute down low.

“We don’t have the size of other teams in our conference,” Mitchell said when addressing the team’s most glaring weakness. But Mitchell made sure to stress the team’s WNIT success even with a lack of size last season, calling it a mental disadvantage more than anything.

The team may look to employ a forward by committee approach, getting senior Marissa Thrower, junior Breann Hill, another junior college transfer and sophomores Paige Fiedorowicz and Jocelyn Mellen involved in the forward rotation.

Freshmen Georgie Jones and Jessica Pachko are both 6-2 and may force their way into the mix with valued size and post play.

With uncertainty and inexperience plaguing Marquette’s frontcourt, the need for senior leadership becomes all that more important. Luckily for the Golden Eagles, they have stellar leaders in seniors Ellis, Monfre and Thrower.

When Ellis and Monfre were asked to describe their roles on the team for the upcoming season, each responded in sync, describing themselves as players who lead by example.

As last season clearly showed, talent is a definitive component of this team. But given the high level of play within the Big East, getting it to roll on all cylinders every single night becomes the most arduous and questionable task.

But one thing the Marquette women’s basketball does not need to question is its desire for this season. It begins and ends with a trip to the NCAA Tournament. After winning an exhibition game against Winona State Saturday and another exhibition game on November 10, the real season kicks off Saturday, Nov. 15 against Oral Roberts at the Al McGuire Center.

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November 3 will mark the beginning of the 2007-2008 campaign for the Women’s Basketball program. And even though head coach and reigning Big East Coach of the Year Terri Mitchell returns with only one starter, she is very optimistic about this team.

“I feel like a little kid in a candy shop,” said Mitchell of her six newcomers. “It’s been extremely exciting. They’re testing our coaching staff, but they’re so young and enthusiastic. They’re all just a pleasure to coach.” The Golden Eagles are coming off their best season in program history, where they finished tied for second in the Big East, and earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

That however, was a senior laden team, and some gaps will need to be filled. The six freshmen that Coach Mitchell mentioned will get the opportunity early on to prove themselves this season. The individual that is expected to lead the class of 2011 is the highly touted Angel Robinson. The 5’8” guard out of St. Paul is one of the highest rated recruits Marquette Women’s Basketball has landed, and should be an impact player right away.

“Angel Robinson is a natural as a point guard,” elaborated Coach Mitchell. “She’ll take pressure off us by allowing Krystal to play the wing, which in turn will allow us to play much faster.”

The lone returning starter from a year ago is First Team All-Big East guard Krystal Ellis. Taking over the point guard duties as a sophomore, Ellis averaged eighteen points per game, and had 115 assists for the season.

This season she will step back into her natural role running the wing and will continue to be Marquette’s go-to player. Ellis understands what she means to her team, and knows what her role must be.

“I feel like I have to step into that leadership role because of my experience over the past two years,” explained Ellis, and she is dead on. Marquette will have only one senior return this year, so Ellis will need to fill the leadership void.

The main reason Krystal Ellis is stepping into the role as team leader, is because of the loss of Christina Quaye and Jasmine McCullough this year. In addition to their great personalities, they accounted for the vast majority of Marquette’s presence in the paint. Between them they averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds a game, which is never easy to replace.

The Golden Eagles do have returning experienced players and talent at the forward position. Junior Kelly Lam will anchor the team in the middle, and she’ll be flanked by Svetlana Kovalenko (the team’s only senior) and Marissa Thrower.

Newcomers to the group that are expected to make an impact are 6’3” redshirt freshman Jocelyn Mellen and true freshman Jasmine Collins out of Detroit, Michigan. Be patient with this group early on as they get acclimated to their more involved roles. Once December hits, they should be just fine and able to match up with any of their Big East foes.

The schedule will not make things very easy for the Golden Eagles with their young roster. They will be tested early on, and on the big stage as well. The University of Wisconsin Badgers will travel to Milwaukee on November 17, but the game will not take place in the friendly confines of the Al Maguire Center. The contest has been moved to the Bradley Center to accommodate what is expected to be a large and raucous crowd.

Over Thanksgiving break, a west coast swing to Oregon and Gonzaga is sure to test the team, followed up by a trip to instate rival University of Wisconsin Green Bay. The Big East’s newly formatted schedule will allow Marquette to face off against all sixteen teams this year, highlighted by National Runner-Up Rutgers at home on January 8, and a trip to Storrs, Connecticut to take on the University of Connecticut Huskies on February 20.

Overall, expect some early struggles as this young team will need some time to hit their stride. But also expect them to eventually hit their stride, and return to post-season play again this year.

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Over the past month, anyone associated with Marquette basketball became quite familiar with coaching vacancies at schools like, oh I don’t know, let’s say the University of Kentucky. We all thought the waters had calmed since Kentucky’s hiring of now former Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie. However, Marquette Basketball supporters learned this past week that men’s basketball coach Tom Crean is not the only enviable item here at Marquette.

Terri Mitchell, Marquette women’s basketball coach for the past 11 years, interviewed for the head coaching position at Duke last week. But this news should not come as a shock to fans or members of Marquette. Let’s take a step back and look at this from an outsider’s angle.

In her 11 years at the helm, Coach Mitchell’s teams have made the Big Dance six times, but have never advanced past the second round. In a sport in which you are judged by your success during March, Mitchell’s résumé isn’t exactly at the top of the heap. But look a little closer and you can find the reason the Blue Devils came calling.

The past two seasons for Marquette women’s hoops have been the best in program history. As a fledgling team in the Big East conference, the Golden Eagles posted a solid 9-7 record. Even though they just missed the NCAA Tournament, the team finished the season strong, reaching the WNIT Championship Game. And if you didn’t pay close enough attention this past season, allow me to inform you: a 26-7 overall record that was the best in school history, a second place finish in the Big East Conference, the first ever sell out at the Al McGuire Center, two First Team-All Big East selections in Krystal Ellis and Christina Quaye and a run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Mitchell’s leadership has made Marquette the best up-and-coming team in the Big East. So in turn, one of the so-called “powerhouses” was a little interested. For Marquette’s sake, Duke decided to go with now former Michigan State head coach Joanne McCallie. But their decision to bring Mitchell to Durham for an interview speaks volumes for her and the program. Don’t look at it as if Terri Mitchell is looking to get out of Milwaukee. IT WAS DUKE! If she wants to move on and up, she has the right to do so.

Schools and athletic directors across the nation have begun to take notice of what Mitchell has done here at Marquette. Currently her name is in Penn State’s search for a new women’s basketball coach. Now this threat could prove to be the most dangerous threat to Mitchell’s future at Marquette, as she is a native of Harrisburg, Pa. Time will only tell as to how serious Penn State is about Mitchell, and how interested she might be.

But this makes me smile going into next year. Even with a host of talented seniors graduating, Marquette will field a team that will once again be capable of competing with the best in the Big East. With Mitchell’s guidance, Krystal Ellis could have All-American potential, and a second straight trip to the Tourney could be on the horizon.

Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll all just have to hold our breath.

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Various thoughts have crossed my mind during my time covering Marquette’s women’s basketball team this year. Now, I’m quite sure that none of you want to delve into the depths of my mind (Lord knows I have enough trouble going there), but bear with me for a few moments.

This team, game in and game out, has done the one thing their male counterparts have yet to accomplish: play with consistency. And that wasn’t even intended to be a shot at Tom and the boys. Instead, incredible praise for the women’s team. For the women to be in only their second year of Big East affiliation with the ability to understand what it takes to be successful over a sixteen game conference schedule is remarkable.

Like many other members of the student media here on campus, I was perplexed as the Big East coaches picked Terri Mitchell’s bunch to finish 8th in the conference. Maybe that chip on the shoulder was just what this team needed to push it over the top. But the Marquette women’s basketball team probably would still be thinking Women’s National Invitation Tournament, had it not been for the play of two individual players this season.

Now I know basketball is a team game, but let’s give credit where credit is due. First, senior forward, Christina Quaye. “Q,” as she is referred to by her teammates, has been the most consistent scorer for Marquette this season. At times, she has been the only offensive option as evidenced by her six twenty point games on the season (Heck, she nearly beat UConn by herself in the second half of that game). As the Big East Tournament is just a few days away, Christina will have to be the catalyst if Marquette intends to challenge mighty UConn for the title.

The second, is sophomore sensation Krystal Ellis. The emergence of Ellis as a superstar has been extremely exciting to watch. For those that follow and have watched her play, you know that her presence on the floor automatically makes everyone else on the team better. In addition to that, she can easily put up twenty plus points any given night. She plays at a higher speed compared to her teammates and her competition, but when she’s on the floor, her teammates just naturally pick up the tempo and run with her step for step. It has created so many odd man rushes and easy baskets for the Golden Eagles. Few players at her age can do that for a basketball

Then, there’s the bench. What more can be said about this group. They have more depth at forward position than anyone in the conference. Marissa Thrower’s development into a solid rebounder and excellent jump shooter has meant a great deal. Kelly Lam, along with Svetlana Kovalenko, present match-up problems coming off the bench. That is definitely not something you see everyday. And Erin Monfre and Janelle Harris are solid guards that can play big minutes if they have to.

This team is teetering on the borderline of greatest Women’s team in school history. The way that will be officially determined is how long this team plays into March. The sky is the limit as the tourney hits, and I’m proud to say I’ll be a witness to it.

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With travel, hours of practice and studying film, basketball consumes a heavy portion of time for any player enrolled at a college or university.

However, for Efueko Osagie-Landry, life as a Division I athlete goes well beyond highlights and box scores. In fact, it’s more like pacifiers and teddy bears.

In addition to being a steady contributor to the Marquette women’s basketball team, Osagie-Landry is also a steady contributor to the well-being of her nine-month-old daughter, Moriah.

So, how does Osagie-Landry balance these two very distinctive roles? “It’s complicated, but it’s doable because I have a lot of support and help from my teammates, my family here in Milwaukee and my husband as well,” she said. “It’s a lot of balancing and discipline in order to get it done.”

Coincidentally, both she and her husband are in the same boat. Married on April 22, 2006, Osagie-Landry and Wisconsin forward Marcus Landry have both split time between basketball, themselves and of course, Moriah. Being separated by 78 miles, however, has obviously made it difficult for the two young parents.

“It’s hard, but we understand that we have to focus because we’re both D-I basketball players and we’re both trying to win a national championship, so our first thought is with our seasons,” said Osagie-Landry. The couple sees each other on average twice a week and keeps in contact a lot over the phone, but Osagie-Landry said she gets extra support from her team for both her and Moriah. “They are really helpful,” she said. “Terri (Mitchell) allows me to take her on trips and practices, and she’s very involved with the team. We’re like a big family.”

Due to her marriage and her pregnancy, Osagie-Landry couldn’t participate with that family last season as it advanced to the NIT championship. Because of this extended absence, she underwent a rigorous off-season workout to return to playing shape and prepare for a daunting Big East schedule. Being able to return physically was the easiest part for her, however. “Honestly, physically I got in shape faster than what I did mentally,” Osagie-Landry said. “I was in the gym two or thee times a day just to make sure I’m doubling up on conditioning and trying to get my shots in. That came back fast, but mentally it’s a day-by-day situation and I’ve been getting better at that and I’m happy about it. My coach is happy too; she couldn’t be any more pleased with the progress that I’ve been making.”

And boy, has it been some progress. After averaging only about 18 minutes per game for the first 16 games of the season, that number has spiked to 25 over the past seven games: a span in which she has acquired what looks to be a firm spot in the starting rotation. Osagie-Landry’s not just receiving more minutes lately, she’s thriving on them. In the Jan. 23 game against Notre Dame, she scored a season high 15 points, grabbed five rebounds, doled out five assists, and stole the rock four times. That’s not even including the incredible block of an Irish three-point attempt and finish on the other end.

Asked about the key to her increased role, Osagie-Landry had some “motherly” advice for all young players. “Hard work and dedication is always the key,” she said. “As they say, practice makes perfect, and as always, the more you play, the more comfortable you’ll be in game situations. I’ve always been a player that’s practiced hard, and I was just waiting for it to show in games and it’s finally coming around and I’m happy about that.”

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