Veterans to lead the way for Lady Cougar team

Kumar Bhooshan
Assistant Sports Editor

Experience makes expectations high for the 2000-01 SIUE women's basketball team.

The Lady Cougars, coming off an 18-9 overall season and 13-7 Great Lakes Valley Conference record last year, will be returning 11 players from last year's team which finished fourth in the GLVC.

The Lady Cougars will be led by senior Misi Clark.

Clark, the GLVC's Co-Player of the Year for the 1999-2000 season, also received honorable mention to the Daktronics Inc. Division II All-America team.

Along with making her third All-GLVC team, Clark also became the all-time leading scorer in SIUE history, with 1,676 points. and set the record for career free throws made and attempted.

Also her 21.4 points per game average last year was an SIUE record, which included a 40-point game against Kentucky Wesleyan College.

She also ranks in the top five among Lady Cougars in six other offensive categories.

"Misi is the best point guard in the GLVC," coach Wendy Hedberg said. "We will look to her for leadership on our team."

SIUE will also be led by and Crystal Gladson and Sarah Cook.

Cook, a 6-1 center, played her sophomore and freshman seasons at the University of Toledo and transferred to SIUE where she ranked second only to Clark with 10.7 points per game and led the team in field goal percentage and blocked shots for the 1999-2000 season.

Gladson, a 6-foot senior, led the Lady Cougars in rebounds last year and finished fourth overall in points per game on the SIUE squad.

To add to the experience, this Lady Cougar squad also has some new faces on the team in Kristen Boss, Jessica Robert and Jaque Howard.

Boss, an All-State and All-Conference player at Carrolton High School, was ranked in the top 20 among all players in Illinois.

"Kristen is a very skilled athlete for a player her size," Hedberg said. "She will see some time this year but is playing behind two seniors, so this will be a year to get her ready for next year."

Robert, a 5-9 guard out of Carlyle High School, was named first-team All-State by the Illinois Coaches Association as well as All-Area and All-Conference.

Last year SIUE finished fourth overall in the GLVC, with Northern Kentucky University taking top honors in the conference. Northern Kentucky also claimed the Division II National Championship and are once again the favorite to repeat.

"We should be pretty balanced this year," Hedberg said. "We have an opportunity to have a good inside-outside game this year,"

SIUE will start its season ranked No. 2 in the GLVC with only Northern Kentucky University ahead of them.

The Lady Norse received 11 of the possible 12 votes to be named preseason No. 2. SIUE was the only other team to receive a vote from the coach's poll

The Lady Cougars will give the SIUE fans their first look at the 2000-01 team in an exhibition against Blackburn College at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Vadalabene Center.

"Our first goal is to play our best," Hedberg said. "Then we will look to win the GLVC and get in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Tournament again."

The Lady Cougars will not play their first conference match until Nov. 30 against St. Joseph's College.