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2004-05 Season Outlook The Lady Jacket basketball squad enters the season with a No. 2 NAIA preseason national ranking and the league’s coaches choice to repeat as the American Mideast Conference South Division champions. It really should come as no surprise to anyone that followed the Lady Jackets through last season’s memorable campaign. The club set a school record for most wins in a season with a 35-3 record, rolled to a perfect 18-0 mark in the AMC South Division, and put together a school-record string of 23 straight victories. And to top it all off, they advanced to the championship game of the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. Head Coach Kirk Martin begins his fourth season at Cedarville and has quickly built the Lady Jacket program into one of the NAIA’s best. He has established two key expectations that have resulted in the recent success. “First of all, we want to play our best for the glory of God and to let others see that we have a unique focus within our team. Secondly, we want to win the AMC South Division which gives us the opportunity to compete in the NAIA National Tournament,” Martin explained. It is a formula that is working. Martin has four of his top five scorers returning from last year’s team. The quartet includes two-time NAIA All-American and AMC Player of the Year Kari Flunker, AMC South Division Freshman of the Year Brittany Smart, All-AMC First Team post player Emily Delimpo, and point guard Karah Walton, who joined Smart on the All-AMC South Division Freshmen Team.
Flunker, a senior guard, led the nation in three-point field goal shooting (.503) in 2003-04 and paced the Lady Jackets in scoring with 17.4 points per game. She was the squad’s top free throw shooter (.774) and was the fourth-leading rebounder with 4.9 boards per game. Smart returns after a successful rookie campaign. She was the Lady Jacket’s second-leading scorer at 15.1 points per game while pacing the club with 88 steals. Delimpo, a 6-0 junior, hauled in 9.1 rebounds per game last year while adding 12.4 points per game. Sophomore Walton contributed 7.6 points, 3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. When asked about his returning players, Martin stated, “I believe we have the best backcourt in the nation, but I am also convinced that rebounding wins championships. We will work hard in improving that area.” Senior leadership will be a key for success as Martin looks to Flunker, Tami Gheen and Crystal Stuckey for steady play. Classmate Kylee Teboda returns to the team after sitting out last season. Sophomores Kristi Beougher, who will be counted on under the boards, and Stacie Travis, who provides backcourt depth, should also make key contributions.
Martin is excited about the potential of his ball club. “It is always exciting to see godly young women who have God-given talents and abilities perform on the basketball court,” he stated. “Our team verses for the year are Romans 12:9-10 which talk about honoring others before ourselves. I am anxious to see how that influences our team throughout the season.” Four newcomers join the ranks of the Lady Jackets and Martin will be watching for their continued development. Rookie guards Julie McQueen and Heather Grooms, and freshman post player Mary Stockdale all have potential to contribute. Crystal Wiley, a junior transfer from Geneva College, gives added strength to the rebounding corps. The 2004-05 schedule will be challenging for the Lady Jackets. The line-up includes two games each against AMC South Division powers Shawnee State and Ohio Dominican, who were both NAIA ranked and played in the Division II national tournament, plus two games with Rio Grande who is receiving votes in the pre-season national ratings. In non-conference action, Cedarville will face Saint Ambrose, a team that participated in the national tournament, as well as potential match-ups with Indiana Wesleyan and Cardinal Stritch, who both appeared in Sioux City last year. | ||||||||
