Central Michigan University Athletics
1999-2000 Women's Basketball Season Outlook
2/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sept. 30, 1999
MOUNT PLEASANT - For the second straight season, the Central Michigan University women's basketball roster is dominated by underclassmen. Only two seniors dot the Chippewa lineup along with six sophomores and five freshmen.
"Our young kids played a lot last season and our success will depend on how much they improved," fourth-year head coach Fran Voll said. "We were competitive game in and game out with a young team and made a strong showing in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) games. We lost several MAC contests by a few points and with more maturity and experience, hopefully we can get above that this season.
"With such a young team, it's hard to know what to expect. We have a lot of people who can do a lot of things and there is contrast in the players with everybody having a different dimension to contribute.
"The possibilities are exciting because nobody knows to what degree we can step it up."
The lone upperclassmen, seniors Shelly Woods (Midland) and Jodi Culbertson (Fort Wayne, IN), are being counted on to head the Chippewa charge with their play on the court and their leadership in the young team's development.
"Woods and Culbertson have fine leadership skills and the potential to touch all facets of our game," Voll said. "Leadership will be key and hopefully our seniors will help keep our young team on track."
Woods, a 6-3 forward/center, started 26 games last season and is the Chippewas' top returning scorer after averaging 10.7 points and 4.4 rebounds a year ago. Culbertson is a strong shooter who averaged 2.6 points per game while hitting 16 three-pointers.
The key to the season will likely be the sophomore class which made huge contributions as freshmen. Six sophs return, including two who were starters last year.
Forward Vershaun Jones (Detroit/So.) started all 27 games last season and established herself as a defensive force. She averaged 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while tallying a team-high 39 steals.
"Vershaun had a good year for us last season and we're looking for her to round off her game this season," Voll said.
Playing the point again this year will be 5-6 Molli Munz (Bellefontaine, OH/So.). She got the starting nod in 21 games last season and averaged 4.8 points and 4.0 assists while hitting 29 three-pointers.
"Munz was steady for us all last year and she should position herself to contribute again this year," Voll said.
Rory Wendt (Okemos/So.) was the Chippewas' top option off the bench last season and was expected to be a major force in the post again this year. She was involved in an car accident over the summer and the Chippewas are hopeful she will return to the lineup this season. The 6-2 forward/center was CMU's top rebounder in her freshman campaign with 6.7 boards per game and was fourth on the team in scoring at 8.0 points a game.
Sophomore Mandy Winner (Ft. Loramie, OH) has developed into another threat in CMU's post game. The 6-2 Winner was solid in limited action last season, averaging 2.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
"We are excited about the development of our young post players," Voll said. "Winner will have a great opportunity to step forward and she has the potential to make a great contribution. Wendt was outstanding for us last season, but we're not going to push her recovery."
Alicia Rozak (Sterling Heights/So.) and Rochelle Germany (Columbus, OH/So.) each saw plenty of action at the guard position last season. Rozak is a streaky shooter who averaged 5.9 points a game. Germany started six contests near the beginning of the season and averaged 2.4 points at season's end.
"We know what Rozak is capable of and she will need to add some consistency," Voll said. "Germany should be able to step it up after a year of experience and make a run for more playing time at the point guard position."
With only eight returnees, Voll is counting on the freshmen class to be able to make an instant contribution.
"We're excited about moving the program along with players who come from solid, winning backgrounds," Voll said. "We're going to be asking the newcomers to step in and make contributions. There's not much time for acclimation, so they need to get in there right away."
In their first season with the Chippewa program are 6-0 forward Desiree Eidson (Bowling Green, OH), 5-10 guard/forward Laurie Henderson (Newark, OH), 5-11 forward Beth Kindel (Clare), 5-10 guard Abby Lawinger (Menomonee Falls, WI) and 6-2 forward/center Jackie Wiederholt (Fennimore, WI).
Also adding to the new chemistry of the team will be a trio of new assistant coaches in Ina Nicosia, Kristin Irwin and Renee Bostic.
"When we began our search for coaches, a priority was placed on potential candidates that could connect with all aspects of the program," Voll said. "I feel we've accomplished that with this group of true professionals. They will bring in a great level of expertise and new ideas that will enhance our program."
Nicosia was an assistant at James Madison for the past two seasons and Irwin spent the past two years as an assistant at Ohio Northern. Bostic comes to CMU after two years as an assistant at American International.
Voll knows there is a great deal of unknown for the season with the youthful roster, but he points to post play as a strength and defense as a concern.
"Our post play should be strong this season with returnees Woods, Wendt and Winner," he said. "A question mark for us is outside shooting, so that will make the post play important.
"Our biggest challenge will be defensively. We have yet to bring the defense along as much as the offense has come along in the past couple years. We need to be bigger and better defensively and that could happen with the addition of some of the players coming in. We've been looking for players who are strong defensively. We've been doing things right in the program, we just need to step up the effort both mentally and physically."
Offensively the Chippewas have made adjustments to get more people involved. "We're looking at running a triangle offense with a lot of continuity and variations," Voll said. "We have a lot of weapons to get involved in the game and we could be more successful with a balanced offense."
The Chippewas will face their first test on Nov. 19 with a home date against Detroit. Central kicks off the MAC schedule on Jan. 2 at Ohio. CMU's non-conference slate includes home dates against intrastate rivals Michigan State (Dec. 8), Michigan (Dec. 19) and Ferris State (Dec. 29), road games at Eastern Michigan (Dec. 4) and Oakland (Dec. 22), and a pair of tournaments at Southern Methodist (Nov. 26-27) and Stetson (Dec. 10-11).
"We have a sampling of strong teams on our schedule and host two Big Ten teams who are our in-state sisters," Voll said. "We'll also face Oakland and Ferris State and those in-state rivalries are important for our fans."
Voll sees the perennial MAC powerhouses as the teams to beat in the conference race. "The MAC is not going to change this year," he said. "Kent is the likely frontrunner and Toledo is still Toledo, even with the loss of Kim Knuth. There will be some new people popping up like Western Michigan and Akron. Both of them are on the upstart."
