With a core of backcourt returnees and promising newcomers on hand, Triton College women's basketball head coach
Drew Winston is emphasizing not backing into the meat of the season's schedule.
Winston does not want to run up a great record against softer opposition, then find his team unable to handle the tougher competition of the postseason.
On a tough November schedule are strong NJCAA Division I opponents like State Fair, Hutchinson, Mineral Area and Southwestern Illinois. Top Division II teams like defending national champion Johnson County and Des Moines Area also are on the schedule.
The Trojans were 27-5 overall last season, but Winston wants his team to earn every win of another glittering record. Triton's home opener Nov. 7 at their annual Dan Hull Memorial Classic is against a quality Lansing squad that went 26-6 last season. Out of the first 10 games, seven are against out of region opponents.
"Last year, we breezed through the season in the region, but were not necessarily battle-tested," he said. "End of the year toughness is needed for the postseason. In the (national ranking) system, Division II opponents don't count as much as Division I."
"We don't want to lose in the first or second round. If we have to sacrifice our record to play better (going into the postseason), it will be worth it."
Returnees are all-region selections
Jada Branch and
Jazzmine Smith along with injury-rehabbed star guard
Jayla Rankin and sixth man
Mariah Phelps. Rankin's absence after suffering a knee injury at mid-season definitely hurt the Trojans in March.
Now Rankin has reclaimed her leadership role.
"Jayla is my leader," said Winston. "She's the quarterback of the team. She is so unselfish. She will do what's necessary to win."
And if Rankin is somehow off in a given moment, Schaumburg project Branch can take over. "She can play both guard positions," Winston said.
Also starting is Smith, for whom Winston predicts a sophomore season. "She is strong and working on her mid-range shot," he said.
Gurnee's Phelps will garner much playing time as the first sub off the bench.
"She's lights out from outside," Winston said. "And Mariah is one of our best defenders."
The presence of these seasoned sophomores prompted the coach to proclaim "we're in a better shape than last year." He was confident in that prediction due to the arrival of a qualified "big",
Kyra Paul, to replace All-American center
Jordyn Coleman, now at Abilene Christian University.
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., product Paul is listed as 6-foot-1. But Winston said she's really 6-foot-2. "I'm 6-foot-3, and she's looking me right into my eyes," he said.
Winston can compare Paul to Coleman. "Kyra is where Jordan was going into her freshman year," he said. "She's willing to rebound and can shoot the mid-range jumper. She just has to get acclimated to the (speed of) the college level."
Another top newcomer grew up in Triton's shadow. Forward
Charity Anderson, a transfer from Judson University who hails from Proviso West High School. Winston said Anderson's mid-range shooting talents enable hm to "spread the court."
A third incoming star freshman is forward
Alivia Brown from Rockford, whom Winston said "fell into his lap" after being courted by four-year universities. Brown "rebounds well, has a nice outside shot and handles the ball – she's like a big guard," he said.
Winston is waiting on the full recovery from injuries of forward
Addison Dolan from Apple Valley, Minn. He envisions a healthy Dolan being able to play shooting guard and both forward positions.
Rounding out the newcomers are a pair of guards from Wisconsin,
Jocelyn Tibbetts (Beloit Memorial) and
Teriana Higgins from Brown Deer High School in Milwaukee. Tibbetts will provide the Trojans a spark on offense with her three-point shooting. While Higgins, will be the apprentice at the point, learning behind the experienced veterans of Rankin and Branch.
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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)
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